Losing normal body functions can feel debilitating and affect the patient’s self-esteem as well. An injury, disability, or chronic medical condition may affect the brain, spinal cord, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, or tendons, creating the need for physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Physiatry or rehabilitation medicine doctors help the patient through physical therapies, morale-boosting, and support devices to help restore bodily functions and independence. They also work on reducing pain and discomfort that the patient may experience due to the condition. The goal is to restore functionality and enable the patient to live the highest quality of life possible. They help restore the patient’s ability to carry out activities of daily life (ADLs) seamlessly.

Narayana Health physical medical rehab specialists administer therapies and treatments in addition to the ongoing medicinal treatment to maximise the patient’s independence and capacity to perform day-to-day tasks. Our experienced physiatrists combine tried-and-tested approaches with cutting-edge techniques to treat the condition most effectively and efficiently. Narayana Health’s physical medicine and rehab doctors design comprehensive personalised plans to provide ongoing care while facilitating the recovery of functionality and independence.

Breaking down Rehabilitation Terminology

Impairment, disability, and handicap are the most misinterpreted terms. Let's break them down for you.

Impairment is the body's loss of normal function due to an injury (loss of a leg), or medical condition (paralysis in right arm).

Disability is a person's loss of capacity to perform day-to-day activities, for instance, walking, writing, or working. Advances in medicine have equipped PMR doctors to help the patients navigate both. Unfortunately, the rehab cannot reverse the condition or undo the damage. The most we can do is to leverage our expertise and experience and enable patients to live the highest quality of life possible.

Handicap, on the other hand, is a mental barrier imposed by society, caregivers, or yourself for failing to perform the roles in life as a so-called normal person does. This is where you need to open your mind and ignore the rest to understand that a person’s role or importance in the lives of their loved ones does not depend on their ability or inability to perform certain tasks.

What to Expect from Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation therapy allows one to regain control and take care of oneself. It helps reduce the patient’s dependency on others and trains them to manage ADLs, such as eating, bathing, commuting, communicating, and resuming work. Our physical medicine doctors also train disabled persons to move from wheelchairs to bed and vice versa independently. The extent of function restored depends on the severity of the condition. However, our rehabilitation medicine doctors aim to resolve as many medical, physical, social, emotional, and work-related problems as possible. They regularly monitor progress and suggest diverse treatments to optimise results. In addition to physical medication, our doctors provide:

Targeted medical, physical, and alternative therapies to prevent complications and improve function
Advise for setting up your home to maximise independence and functionality while ensuring the patient’s safety through adaptive tools
Training to use medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, etc.
Suggestions to family members and caregivers to help them adjust to the condition.

Every little progress the patient makes is a win for Narayana Health’s physical medical rehab caregivers. They rejoice and celebrate the patient’s milestones with you as they progress towards a normal life.

Common Conditions Treated at Narayana Health PMR Centre

The physical medicine speciality at Narayana Health offers rehabilitation treatments for a wide variety of conditions

Stroke
Brain and/ or spinal cord injury
Neuropathies
Parkinson disease
Multiple sclerosis
Polio
Burn care
Chronic musculoskeletal back pain (pain in back muscles and bones)
Arthritis
Respiratory care
Chronic wounds ( diabetic foot, pressure ulcer)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Ischemic heart disease
Overuse syndromes
Occupational injuries
Neurogenic bowel/bladder
Pressure management
Physical dysfunction

And many more.

Paediatric Physical Medicine and Rehab

Seeing your children suffer can break your heart and affect the mental health of parents as well. Our paediatric PMR doctors understand the debilitation of parents and offer well-rounded solutions. They try to improve self-dependence and normalise childhood. They also provide mental health support to ensure that young patients do not feel isolated or unfit.

Narayana Health has a specialised physical and rehabilitation team who treat diverse paediatric conditions and birth defects including:

Genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome
Intellectual disabilities
Neuromuscular dystrophy
Sensory disorders, such as slow development of speech or physical control
Autism spectrum conditions
Spinal deformities, such as cerebral palsy

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is more than Physiotherapies

While physical medicine & rehabilitation is considered non-surgical treatment, our physiatrists may recommend minimally invasive procedures to address your concerns and improve the quality of care and efficacy of the treatment. They involve a team of surgical specialists to administer these procedures for pain and spasticity (muscle tightness). Based on the patient’s condition and physical medication requirements, they may advise one or more of the following treatments-

Neurolysis
Intra-articular spinal injections
Contracture management surgeries (to improve neuro-muscular functioning)
Wound excision surgery

When to See a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist?

Common complaints that patients reach out to Narayana Health’s highly specialised doctors include muscle weakness (paralysis), muscle tightness (spasticity/rigidity), musculoskeletal pain/neuropathic pain, phantom pain (feeling of pain in an absent limb), cognitive impairments, poor activity tolerance, breathlessness, etc.

Comprehensive Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Care

Our physiatrists care for people with musculoskeletal, neurological disorders, rheumatological (joint-related), respiratory and cardiovascular system-related illnesses. They approach conditions with a comprehensive bio-psycho-social model that is patient-centric. Our team focuses on enhancing physical function, reducing caregiver burden, and ensuring the patient’s well-being while educating their family about managing the condition together. Our physical medicine speciality doctors are adept at working in diverse settings, including our PMR clinics, in-patients, out-patients, and day-care visitors.

Usually, for patients, the physical medicine and rehab begin while still in hospital. This helps PMR doctors monitor progress and devise the most suitable plan for outpatient care. Our doctors empathetically listen to external patients to understand the treatments they may be undergoing or had been administered before your visit. Our physical medical rehab doctors may recommend certain tests to get a comprehensive knowledge of the condition. After gathering all information they develop customised rehab and physical medicine plan for recovery.

We have a collaborative team of physical medicine & rehabilitation specialists, social workers, and allied health therapists to help manage occupational and lifestyle issues arising from the condition. The multidisciplinary team also includes:

Physiatrists
Physiotherapists
Speech and Language Pathologists
Orthotist or Prosthetists (doctors who train patients to use artificial limbs)
Neuropsychologists
Neurosurgeons
Orthopaedic surgeons
Clinical social workers
Mental health doctors

We form a dedicated team for the patient’s condition to address their concerns through evidence-based sciences and rehabilitation best practices to offer a cost-effective physical medicine & rehab treatment plan.

The physical medicine and rehabilitation facility at Narayana Health is equipped with a nursing facility that has all the necessary equipment and specialists. Our doctors suggest in-patient treatment only if the patient’s condition necessitates continuous monitoring or when regular commuting from their place of residence to the rehabilitation centre is too difficult to manage for you.