Physiatry, or Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, is the medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis, therapy, and especially the rehabilitation of disabilities resulting from various disabling conditions, particularly those of orthopedic nature (outcomes of fractures, joint prosthesis interventions, sports injuries, chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis) and neurological nature (cerebral stroke, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy). The physiatrist is the “director” of the rehabilitation process: their approach does not focus solely on the disease, but on the person as a whole, assessing the impact of the pathology on their daily life, functional abilities (disability), and social participation (handicap). After a thorough clinical and functional evaluation, which may include specific assessment scales and movement analysis, the physiatrist develops an Individual Rehabilitation Project (IRP). This personalized document defines realistic and measurable objectives for the rehabilitation process, the expected timeframes, and the intervention methods (physical, instrumental, occupational, and speech therapies). The physiatrist coordinates a multidisciplinary team of professionals (physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, nurses) to guide the patient in recovering maximum possible autonomy and improving quality of life.
