“What is the difference between a physiatrist and a pain management specialist?”

Hi,

This is a great question. A physiatrist is trained on the musculoskeletal system. This means that they know about the muscles and bones and joints in your body. A physiatrist can do an extra year of training to become a pain management specialist. The pain management fellowship helps them to specialize and learn spinal injections as well as different medications that can help with pain. General physiatrists are not usually trained in these details. Not all pain management specialist are physiatrists.

A physiatrist is a physician trained in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. A physiatrist is trained during residency to address many various conditions such as strokes, prosthetics, musculoskeletal conditions, and much more. A physiatrist (such as myself) may choose to specialize in pain management. The skills of a physiatrist lend well to this specialty.

A physiatrist, AKA physical medicine and rehabilitation, is a three-year residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation, a physician trained in pain management can come from several disciplines and deals with primarily the diagnosis and medical management of pain. An interventional pain management physician deals primarily with the treatment of pain by injection or implantation of stimulators or pugs to deliver pain relief, they are also adept at medication management, they have done a fellowship in how to perform the injections. A physiatrist can also complete this fellowship, but probably the most facile with injections are the anesthesiologists who complete the fellowship.

Klee Bethel