Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - Pediatric

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation helps patients — including children — with a variety of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions improve their functional ability for typical activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing and walking, which boosts their quality of life.

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Young patients who need physical medicine and rehabilitation (also known as physiatry) services at Kentucky Children’s Hospital receive children’s rehabilitation services from the experts on our Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation team. This team’s children’s rehabilitation inpatient and outpatient services help children and adolescents build the functional skills they need to enjoy greater independence at home and in school, and to thrive throughout life.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation may seem similar to physical therapy, but the two differ in important ways. Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists are highly trained doctors who specialize in helping patients who have been diagnosed with a condition that affects their functional abilities, including a brain injury or spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, muscular dystrophy, stroke, spina bifida, osteoporosis, amputation, gait problems, and many more.

In addition to managing children’s medical care and adaptive equipment needs, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists prescribe treatments, such as rehabilitation therapy. Our specialists lead and work closely with care teams that may include rehabilitation therapists and social workers.

These providers use medications, botulinum injections, intrathecal management and advanced therapy methods to lead children through physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Together, these doctors and therapists help kids work toward maximal independent function and a better quality of life.