“Should I see a physiatrist for my muscle pain?”
I've had severe pain in my upper arms for no apparent reason. I'm not sure if it's because I'm sleeping on them wrong or what, but I need to figure out what I can do for it. Should I see a physiatrist?
2 Answers
Yes, they should be able to diagnose you and provide you with some physical therapy.
Yes. A physical Medicine and rehabilitation physician is the perfect choice for this. The initial evaluation should help answer many questions about what the likely source for your pain is and if necessary refer to other specialists such as spine or neurology. That is important because the treatment varies significantly based on what the source of the problem is. An initial exam should be very thorough and they should ask you a lot of questions as well as assess everything from your reflexes and sensation to your muscle strength and areas of pain. Once your doc has an idea of what the source of the pain is there will likely be tests such as an x-ray or perhaps referral to physical therapy or treatment offered directly from your provider. You can find more information at AAPMR.org, the site for the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with some useful links there as well.
