About Physiatry

Drs. Welsh, Ortiz and Molumphy have been colleagues for the past 20 years.  They met while training at Stanford in Physiatry in the early 90’s.  This field of medicine is multifactorial. It encompasses the whole person,  the living environment and family members.  They believe in helping the individual improve their ability to function and achieve their individual goals.  Having goals is a way of measuring improvement in function.  Dr. Ortiz is the expert in electrodiagnostic medicine while Drs. Welsh and Molumphy do more of the spine interventions.  They have worked together for so many years that they compliment each other extremely well.

The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitations definition:

Definition of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also referred to as physiatry, is a medical specialty concerned with diagnosis, evaluation, and management of persons of all ages with physical and/or cognitive impairment and disability. This specialty involves diagnosis and treatment of patients with painful or functionally limiting conditions, the management of comorbidities and co-impairments, diagnostic and therapeutic injection procedures, electrodiagnostic medicine, and emphasis on prevention of complications of disability from secondary conditions.

Physiatrists are trained in the rehabilitation of neurologic disorders, and in the diagnosis and management of impairments of the musculoskeletal (including sports and occupational aspects) and other organ systems, and the long-term management of patients with disabling conditions. Physiatrists provide leadership to multidisciplinary teams concerned with maximal restoration or development of physical, psychological, social, occupational and vocational functions in persons whose abilities have been limited by disease, trauma, congenital disorders or pain to enable people to achieve their maximum functional abilities.