Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation services include:

• Acupuncture: This procedure involves stimulation of specific points on the body by a variety of techniques, including the insertion of thin metal needles through the skin. It is intended to remove blockages in the flow of energy to restore and maintain health.
• Trigger-point injections (TPI): TPI are used to treat painful areas of muscle that contain trigger points, or knots of muscle that form when muscles do not relax. Trigger points may irritate the nerves around them and cause pain that is felt in another part of the body.
• Intracathel pump management: Baclofen and Gablofen are medications used to decrease spasticity related to multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries or other neurological diseases. Spasticity is a muscle problem characterized by tight or stiff muscles that may interfere with voluntary muscle movements.
• Electromyography (EMG) is a diagnostic procedure used to assess the health of muscles and the nerves that control them. EMG results can reveal nerve dysfunction, muscle dysfunction or problems with nerve-to-muscle signal transmission.
• Nerve conduction study (NCS): This study measures how well and how fast nerves can send electrical signals.
• Botox, Dysport and Myobloc: This procedure involves using botulinum toxin injections as a neuromuscular blocker to treat severe neck muscle spasms. The botulinum toxin blocks nerve activity in the muscles, causing a temporary reduction in muscle activity.
• Craniosacral manipulation: This therapy involves the gentle massage of bones in the skull, spine and pelvis to ease stress in the body and improve body movement.
• Phenol for anti-spasticity: Spasticity is a muscle problem characterized by tight or stiff muscles that may interfere with voluntary muscle movements. Phenol, an anti-spasticity drug, is used to help a person to function more easily by controlling muscle movements.
• Ultrasound-guided joint injections: This is a minimally invasive treatment option used to relieve pain in a targeted area caused by inflammatory joint conditions. Certain medications, used to reduce inflammation and minimize pain, are injected into the affected joint. For a fast and accurate diagnosis, the staff uses the MicroMaxx ultrasound system, a state-of-the-art portable ultrasound device.

Other services offered include:

• A prosthetic clinic, where physicians prescribe artificial limbs for people who have had limbs amputated
• Disability evaluation
• Independent medical evaluations for legal cases
• Movement disorders and spasticity clinic.
• Pediatric rehabilitation
• Chronic pain treatment
• Family Information Group – a support team for families of patients with all kinds of neurosurgical medical issues. The team includes Jim Young, MD, a volunteer who was once a neurosurgical patient, an ethicist and a divinity student. It visits patient families each Wednesday afternoon. For more information, call (312) 942-8905.