Compliments of Centers Healthcare

Many older people experience pain due to the increased prevalence of conditions like arthritis, osteoarthritis, and nerve damage. Aging can also affect the nervous system’s pain processing mechanisms, impacting muscles, bones, and tendons. Additionally, older people often experience slower healing from injuries, resulting in prolonged pain, and they are often more prone to falls, resulting in painful injuries.

For all of these reasons, the role of a physiatrist has become increasingly important to older patients. Also known as a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physician, a physiatrist is a medical doctor specializing in diagnosing and treating conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. PM&R physicians use a variety of non-surgical treatments, including physical therapy, medication management, and pain management procedures. At Centers Healthcare, these physicians work as part of an interdisciplinary team, collaborating with orthopedists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and nurses to provide comprehensive care.

Also, part of the Centers Healthcare team are orthopedists, who help manage joint pain and difficulty walking. Occasionally, an orthopedic surgeon may recommend a specific procedure or injections. With a goal of helping patients regain function, reduce their pain, and improve their quality of life, conditions treated at Centers Healthcare often include spinal cord injuries, stroke, traumatic brain injury, amputation, chronic pain, musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological disorders.

Most importantly, this comprehensive team works daily to provide patients with the best possible outcomes by collaborating closely to ensure the full benefit of a treatment plan that helps alleviate patients’ pain, regain greater function, and improve their quality of life.

Learn more about this important aspect of care available at Centers Healthcare, and how to get your loved ones moving, at https://buffalo-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org, or call 716-883-6782.