Dr. Vijay B Vad M.D

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• Hip and shoulder internal rotation range of motion deficits in professional

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Get to know Physiatrist & Sports Medicine Specialist Dr. Vijay Vad, who serves patients in New York, New York.

Dr. Vad treats patients as a double board-certified physician with a specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (physiatry) and a subspecialty of sports medicine. He focuses on minimally-invasive integrative treatments for sports injuries, knee arthritis, and back pain within the Department of Physiatry at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, New York.

The physiatrists at Hospital for Special Surgery perform non-operative treatment procedures on patients who have spinal and sports-related injuries as well as other musculoskeletal problems. These procedures are combined with medically supervised exercise therapies to restore mobility and function in patients who might otherwise require surgery. Several members of the Department of Physiatry also perform electrodiagnostic studies such as nerve conduction and electromyography. 

Alongside treating patients at the hospital, Dr. Vad serves as an Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is also the Founder of the Vad Foundation, dedicated to educating disadvantaged girls globally and conducting medical research in the area of back pain and arthritis.

Previously, he served as the physician for the professional men’s tennis circuit (Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP), and as the physician for the Westchester Classic of the PGA Tour, and MSG Tennis Showdown. 

With a broad educational background, Dr. Vad graduated with his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1992. He then went on to complete his residency at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center.

A member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, he is board-certified in physiatry and sports medicine through the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR). The mission of the ABPMR is to serve the public by improving the quality of patient care in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This is accomplished through a process of certification and maintenance of certification that fosters excellence and encourages continuous learning.

With his current research focusing on developing simple solutions to stay active, Dr. Vad’s integrative approach is designed to empower patients to heal themselves. He has developed the exercise app called Back Rx based on clinical trials done in conjunction with Cornell Tech. This app has not only shown to reduce back pain, but more importantly, dependence on narcotics and medical procedures.

As an active researcher who constantly champions better treatments, Dr. Vad utilizes carboplast (stem-cell therapies) which he has developed in conjunction with his colleagues in India, Ghana, and Germany. Through his use of tibial bone marrow-derived stem cells to treat knee arthritis, he has minimized dependence on joint replacements, exhibiting promising results presented at the Orthopedic Research Society meeting in 2018.

Along with his scientific team in Boston, Dr. Vad has developed medical food capsules for dietary management of big diseases and the reduction of dependence on anti-inflammatory medications and narcotics. His team has produced a highly absorbable curcumin called microactive plus curcumin, for managing arthritis and back pain.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry and physiatrics, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. Physiatrists treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons. 

Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. A sports medicine specialist is a physician with significant specialized training in both the treatment and prevention of illness and injury.

Among his most notable achievements, Dr. Vad has published a 15-minute simple outpatient procedure called capsular distention for restoring motion and eliminating pain in frozen shoulders. He has also written and published Back Rx, Arthritis Rx, Golf Rx and The New Rules of Running published by Penguin Random House. In 2005, his bestseller, Back Rx, was named the Wall Street Journal’s favorite health book of the year. 

Furthermore, he has authored two PBS national television specials entitled, “Stop Back Pain” which premiered in June of 2011, and “Active with Arthritis” which premiered in June of 2013.

Achieving excellence in his career, Dr. Vad has been named Castle Connolly Top Doctors in New York Metro Area (2003-2020), New York Magazine Top Doctors (2008-2020), and New York Magazine Top Minimally Invasive Doctors (2002). 

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