Overview
About Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation features an integrated academic practice model, linking the main campus with nine acute care hospitals, three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, more than 50 outpatient therapy venues, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care hospitals and Cleveland Clinic's Center for Connected Care. This enterprise employs a fully operational disease-based rehabilitation care delivery system. All of the department's clinicians work side by side with the surgeons and medical specialists who share their subspecialty interests and expertise. Patients benefit from innovative rehabilitation strategies provided by a unified academic faculty, with access to the full range of specialty consultants, sophisticated laboratory and imaging resources and Cleveland Clinic treatment protocols and carepaths.
Committed to the concept of teamwork, the department features an inclusive leadership structure that engages all of the therapy disciplines in meaningful roles. This collaboration has allowed us to be able to provide approximately 700,000 rehabilitation visits each year. Clinical, research and educational services are supported by the nation's premier information management platform that advances an efficient and value-based rehabilitation brand.
Rehabilitation Services
The department's commitment to helping patients maintain good health and improve function extends through outpatient clinics, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and consultation in skilled nursing facilities. The clinical staff is charged with teaching the principles of rehabilitation care to over 1,000 Cleveland Clinic residents and fellows, and to the medical students of Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University. Our Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program, inaugurated in 2016, is the capstone of this effort.
Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospitals (Avon, Beachwood and Edwin Shaw) share a common medical faculty, common electronic medical records, laboratory and radiology systems, and a commitment to use Cleveland Clinic's size and resources to create efficient and effective treatment protocols that will define the future delivery of rehabilitation services in the United States. Cleveland Clinic Rehabilitation Hospitals, a joint venture partnership between Cleveland Clinic and Select Medical, have been recognized as one of the Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers in Ohio by Newsweek Magazine – chosen based on a rigorous methodology that includes data from a survey of thousands of medical experts and KPIs based on the U.S. Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Research
The rehabilitation research team partners with colleagues of many medical specialties and scientific fields to investigate novel treatments and therapies. This work elevates the level of care that is provided to patients, and sets the stage for development of Cleveland Clinic rehabilitation brand regionally, nationally and internationally, with new facilities in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.
Outcomes
Measuring and understanding outcomes of medical treatments promotes quality improvement. Cleveland Clinic has created a series of online Outcomes for each of its clinical institutes. Designed for a physician audience, these Outcomes contain a summary of many of our surgical and medical treatments, with a focus on outcomes data and a review of new technologies and innovations.
What We Treat
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation integrates main campus with nine acute care hospitals, three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, more than 50 outpatient therapy venues, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care hospitals and Cleveland Clinic's Center for Connected Care.
Collaborative care is also communicated with our Department of Rehabilitation and Sports Therapy. Rehab and Sports Therapy consists of 650 specialty-trained therapists at more than 45 locations. Our highly trained physical, occupational and speech therapists provide more than 20 specialty rehabilitation and sports therapy services and programs to help patients improve function and recover from injury or surgery. Our therapists guide practice excellence through the development of standardized, evidence-based practice protocols.
This enterprise employs a fully operational disease-based rehabilitation care delivery system. All of the department's clinicians work side by side with the surgeons and medical specialists who share their subspecialty interests and expertise. Patients benefit from innovative rehabilitation strategies provided by a unified academic faculty, with access to the full range of specialty consultants, sophisticated laboratory and imaging resources, and Cleveland Clinic treatment protocols and carepaths.
Outpatient Services
If you have been hospitalized for stroke, a traumatic injury, major surgery or a severe illness, your doctor may refer you for acute inpatient rehabilitation before you go home.
Our outpatient rehabilitation physician services include:
- Amputee Clinic.
- Botox and Baclofen Pump Clinic.
- Cognitive rehabilitation.
- Disability and counseling services.
- Gait training.
- Interventional pain management and spinal procedures.
- Musculoskeletal rehabilitation physician clinical services.
- Musculoskeletal/Sports injury assessment and treatment.
- Neurological rehabilitation.
- Neuropsychological testing.
- Pelvic floor EMG.
- Pelvic floor rehabilitation.
- Rehabilitation psychology.
- Spasticity Clinic.
- Spinal cord injury.
- Stroke rehabilitation.
- Traumatic brain injury.
- Ultrasound guidance injection.
Oncology Rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians who specialize in oncology rehabilitation provide a comprehensive medical evaluation and assessment and create a personalized treatment plan for patients with cancer at any stage from diagnosis into survivorship.
Our program can help patients improve physical strength and function, reduce pain related to cancer treatments with non-opiate management, and prepare patients for treatment. We use a multi-disciplinary approach by working with the patient’s oncology team as well as colleagues in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, nutrition, psychology, and palliative medicineCancer related impairments that can be helped with physical medicine and rehabilitation include:
- Cognitive dysfunction such issues with learning, memory, perception, and problem solving.
- Deconditioning (loss of muscle tone and endurance).
- Dysarthria (difficulty or unclear articulation).
- Dysphagia (difficulty or discomfort when swallowing).
- Gait instability.
- Fatigue.
- Impaired daily activities such as dressing, bathing, meal preparation, walking, working & household chores.
- Lymphedema.
- Myopathy (muscle weakness).
- Osteoporosis.
- Musculoskeletal pain (e.g., shoulder pain) and range of motion abnormalities
- Peripheral neuropathy (tingling, burning, loss of feeling from nerve damage due to chemotherapy).
- Spasticity (muscle tightness).
Children's Rehabilitation
Our pediatric rehabilitation team at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation develops individualized treatment plans to help patients with physical and cognitive disabilities improve function, prevent progression of disability and disease complications and assist caregivers.
Our pediatric rehabilitation team at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation consists of board-certified pediatric physiatrists, case managers, nurses, therapists, psychologists and social workers, among other professionals.
This team evaluates each child’s needs and develops treatment plans based on individual goals. Our pediatric rehabilitation program serves patients with physical and cognitive disabilities — improving function, preventing progression of disability and disease complications, and assisting caregivers. Specialized pediatric therapy services include:
Programs & Services
- Physical Therapy.
- Occupational Therapy.
- Speech/Language Therapy.
- Aquatic (water) Therapy.
- Recreational Therapy.
- Music and Art Therapy.
- Day hospital.
- Feeding Disorders Program.
- Constraint-induced Movement Therapy.
- Motor Control Program.
- NICU Follow-Up Clinic.
- Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program.
- Seating and Mobility Clinic.
- Spasticity Program.
- Technology Resource Center.
Learn more at clevelandclinicchildrens.org.
Appointments
Make an Appointment
To schedule an appointment with a Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation specialist, please call 216.636.5860 or 866.588.2264.
Virtual Visits
Whether you're a new or existing patient, you can get an initial evaluation or follow-up care from a Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation specialist using your phone, tablet or computer. This means there's no travel or parking, less waiting and significant time savings. Call 216.636.5860 to schedule a virtual visit for you or a loved one and get details on cost and set-up instructions.
MyChart
MyChart connects you to your health care team from the comfort and safety of home. With this secure, online tool you can manage your appointments and complete pre-visit tasks, communicate with your providers, and keep track of your test results and medications.
Locations
Botulinum Toxin (Botox®) Injections
Cleveland Clinic offers advanced care in the community, including botulinum toxin (Botox®) injections at the following locations:
Avon - Richard E. Jacobs Health Center
U Building - Mellen Center
Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Center
Medina Medical Office Building
Clinical Trials & Research
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Research Programs
The Neurological Institute advances research into diseases of the brain and spine and conducts clinical therapeutic trials to support patients with neurological disorders. Our multidisciplinary research collaboration combines the expertise of clinical principal investigators with state-of-the-art imaging and data analysis to establish and implement new approaches to the treatment of neurological diseases. In addition, the Neurological Institute trains clinical fellows, full-time research fellows and residents as next generation clinical research scientists.
Clinical trials and research are the key to advancing medical knowledge and patient care. They provide hope by testing new drugs, new surgical techniques or other treatments before they are available.
Outpatient Clinics
Cleveland Clinic Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation outpatient clinics help patients maintain good health and improve function. Using a multidisciplinary approach, experts including physical, occupational and speech therapists work together to provide a comprehensive treatment plan that fits each patient’s needs.
To schedule an appointment with a Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation outpatient clinic, please call 216.636.5860 or 866.588.2264.
Dance Medicine Clinic
Cleveland Clinic’s Dance Medicine Clinic addresses the physical demands that plague both amateur and professional dancers with the goal of returning a performer to optimal function and performance.
We manage all dance-related injuries, including:
Our team of providers develops individualized treatment plans and provides tips on how to reduce the risk of future injury in order to successfully transition performers back to the rehearsal studio and stage.
Spasticity Clinic
Cleveland Clinic’s Spasticity Clinic focuses on neuro-rehabilitative interventions for spasticity and gait abnormalities in adults with conditions including:
- Brain and spinal cord injury.
- Cerebral palsy.
- Motor neuron disease.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Stroke.
We aim to optimize patient function and quality of life, reduce fall risk and discomfort, and/or ease caregiver strain. Working closely with our patients, we establish goals and develop a treatment plan that may include specialized services such as:
- Acupuncture.
- Assistive device training.
- Botulinum toxin injections.
- Customized exercise programs.
- Gait and balance training.
- Intrathecal baclofen therapy.
- Phenol injections.
- Spasticity management which includes pharmacological and therapeutic treatments.
- Speech therapy, including swallowing evaluations.
- Trigger point injections.
- Wheelchair evaluations.
Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic
The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Clinic provides comprehensive care for patients with a TBI, and support for their families in order to optimize function and maximize recovery.
In partnership with Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute, Audiology, Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Center and Vocational assistance services, our team of experts conduct a thorough analysis of patient symptoms and provide personalized care plans that include leading-edge treatments, technologies and research.
Symptomatic issues that are a result of a TBI, and may be addressed and treated by this team, include:
- Activities of daily life.
- Gait and balance issues.
- Memory issues.
- Mood disorders.
- Weakness.
Amputation Clinic
Cleveland Clinic’s Amputation Clinic provides rehabilitation services for patients with amputations and limb deficiencies, to help them reach the highest level of function and independence and improve overall quality of life. Utilizing the most innovative technologies available, our team of experts conduct extensive evaluations, develop targeted treatment plans and set goals for recovery. Our comprehensive approach includes:
- Analysis of underlying medical conditions, level of amputation and baseline gait.
- Assessment of goals for future function and mobility.
Our program is designed to meet the unique needs of each patient and may include activities to improve:
- Emotional support.
- Fitting and use of artificial limbs.
- Motor skills.
- Pain management.
- Use of assistive devices.
Cerebral Palsy Clinic
Cleveland Clinic’s Cerebral Palsy Clinic manages patients who have cerebral palsy (CP) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. We aim to optimize a patient’s quality of life by reducing discomfort and easing caregiver strain with individualized treatment plans that address each patient’s specific needs.
Our program emphasizes excellence in clinical care and offers targeted services to patients 18 and older and/or who are transitioning from their pediatric provider to an adult provider.
During the first visit, a member of our team will discuss personalized treatment options. These can include, but are not limited to:
- Botulinum toxin injections.
- Community resources.
- Oral medications.
- Referrals to specialists.
- Rehabilitation therapies.
Spinal Cord Injury Clinic
The Spinal Cord Injury Clinic addresses the medical, physical, psychosocial and vocational challenges that individuals with spinal cord dysfunction may experience.
Extensive, personalized rehabilitation and medical care is important to preserve and enhance function, with a goal of independence in mobility and activities of daily life. Using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, we offer specialized medical and therapy services, including:
- Aquatic therapy.
- Drivers evaluation and rehabilitation.
- Nerve and tendon transfers.
- Neuromodulation.
- Powered exoskeleton gait training.
- Return to work services.
- Sleep disorders management.
- Spasticity.
- Wheelchair and seating assessments.
- Wound care.
Medical Professionals
Refer a Patient
The Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation offers direct referral lines to ease the process of making a patient referral.
To refer a patient to the Neurological Institute via phone, please call our dedicated physician referral hotline at 216.445.8455. An intake coordinator will handle your call directly. If you are unable to reach an intake coordinator, please leave a message and they will return your call within the work day (if left before 1 p.m. ET) or the next work day (if left after 1 p.m. ET).
To refer a patient to the Neurological Institute via fax, please download and complete our physician referral form and fax to 216.636.2596.
DrConnect
Stay connected to patients you refer to Cleveland Clinic through online updates and electronic medical records.
- Learn More.
- Sign-up or Log in.
Educational Opportunities
Fellowships
Our department sponsors one ACGME-accredited fellowship position in Sports Medicine. Our fellow joins three surgical and three family practice colleagues in Orthopaedic Sports Health for an intense, one year experience that includes collaboration with world-renowned faculty, and extensive sideline experience.
Also, in collaboration with the Northeast Ohio Spinal Cord Injury System/MetroHealth, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) hosts 1-2 ACGME Spinal Cord Injury fellows each year for three month subspecialty rotations in Neurosurgical Spine Traumatology, Neurourology and Spasticity Clinic.
- Please visit the Orthopaedics Fellowship webpage for more information.
Medical Students
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation hosts medical students from Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University Medical School as part of required rotations in the care of persons with disabilities. Our faculty is also active in didactic medical student teaching and administrative committees in the Lerner College. Medical student rotations and externships are also tailored to meet the interest and needs of first through fourth year medical students. Opportunities for research and clinical training are available in areas related to disability and the therapy disciplines, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, spine rehabilitation, pain management, and electrodiagnosis. Most rotations are four weeks in duration. The broad scope of training available at Cleveland Clinic brings students from around the world to our campus.
Resident Education and Fellowships
In July 2016 we welcomed our first class of resident trainees into the new residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Cleveland Clinic. Working through the National Resident Matching Program we have not recruited our fourth group of residents.
Residents benefit from an innovative curriculum, superb faculty mentors, and the magnificent clinical, educational and research resources supplied by Cleveland Clinic.
Our department is also a popular choice for visiting residents choosing elective rotations in sports, pain management, and neurological rehabilitation. Training rotations are also made available to visiting graduate medical education trainees appropriate to the level of their training licensure, and malpractice coverage.
Cleveland Clinic has a distinguished history of offering fellowship training to postgraduate Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residents in the following disciplines:
- Brain Injury Medicine (in collaboration with MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH).
- Musculoskeletal Medicine and Ultrasound.
- Multiple Sclerosis.
- Pain Medicine.
- Spinal Cord Medicine (in collaboration with MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH).
- Spine Medicine.
- Sports Medicine.
Visiting Physicians
Visitors from countries around the world are welcomed to our Department throughout the year to observe our practices and techniques of treatment.
Continuing Medical Education
Formal educational offerings include: Accredited Monthly PM&R Grand Rounds series, Resident journal club, chairman's teaching rounds, and special endowed lectures (e.g. the Noll Lectureship) are sponsored throughout the year.
Occupational Therapy (OT) and Physical Therapy (PT) Education
The OT and PT Education Coordinators host a variety of professional courses that enhance the quality of education available to the physical and occupational therapy staff. Courses are offered to therapists employed by Cleveland Clinic, as well as therapists in the community.
Other educational activities include weekly OT and PT staff in-services, including lectures by staff members, therapy specialists and guest speakers. Physical and Occupational Therapy also provides a broad range of student experiences through identified educational contracts with universities.
Rehabilitation Technology
The members of Rehabilitation Technology section place high priority to provide training and education to students in medicine and rehabilitation technology. Lectures and presentations are given to resident physicians, engineering students, nurses and therapists at the Foundation, Cleveland State University and the R.B. Trumbull School of Enterostomal Therapy.
The graduate level Human Factors Engineering/Industrial Ergonomics course at the Cleveland State University continues to be offered through the instructorial contribution of M. Tom Adams enhancing the engineering students’ knowledge of the ergonomic principles of work site design.
Professional Careers
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is committed to:
- Helping our patients maintain good health and improve their function.
- Learning from our colleagues and partnering with them in our research efforts.
- Teaching rehabilitation principles to 1,000 residents and fellows, and to our medical students in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
- Recording useful data, and gaining knowledge from each of our 600,000 patient encounters each year.
- Developing our rehabilitation brand regionally, nationally and internationally, starting with our newest facilities in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi.
- Using our size and resources to create efficient and effective care paths that will define the future delivery of rehabilitation services in the United States.
Join Cleveland Clinic’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Team
Frontiers Newsletter
Published by the Cleveland Clinic Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, this annual newsletter provides updates on diagnostic and therapeutic techniques and current research for physiatrists, neurologists and neurosurgeons.
- 2017 Frontiers in Rehabilitation.
- 2016 Frontiers in Rehabilitation.
- 2015 Frontiers in Rehabilitation.
Consult QD
Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute's forum for discussion of the latest advances in patient care, research, and technology — specifically for healthcare professionals.
Resources
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is committed to delivering world-class rehabilitation services. This entails providing superior physician and therapy services to our patients and their families, and pursuing innovations in our research studies.
The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is part of the Neurological Institute, one of 26 institutes at Cleveland Clinic that group multiple specialties together to provide collaborative, patient-centered care. The department offers full cross-disciplinary rehabilitation for patients with physical, psychosocial, cognitive and vocational impairments. Patients receive coordinated care across a continuum that spans inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing and outpatient therapy at Cleveland Clinic facilities throughout the region.
Events Calendar
Visit Cleveland Clinic's event calendar, where you will find a variety of classes for patients, athletes, care providers, parents and coaches both to rehabilitate and help prevent injuries.
Frontiers Newsletter Registration
Subscribe to receive Frontiers in Rehabilitation newsletter for healthcare professionals. Frontiers in Rehabilitation, published by the Cleveland Clinic Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, provides updates on diagnostic and therapeutic techniques and current research for psychiatrists, neurologists and neurosurgeons.
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