Thursday, April 29, 2010

What is a Physiatrist?

I've been trying to see a specialist from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) about my hip. The real question I need answered is "is there any hope of ever running again?" If I need/get the surgery, I'll be out for at least 9 months and most likely will never be able to run afterwards.

  • First, I had to fill out a medical questionnaire.
  • Second, I had to get all my medical records sent over.
  • Third, I had to get the actual images from the MRI sent for the doctor to analyze himself.
  • Today, they called and said I should see a physiatrist first. After that, the hip doctor will consult with the physiatrist to see if I qualify for an appointment. They gave me the names of three that they work with at HSS.

But what's a physiatrist? Basically, this type of doctor is supposed to find the root cause of my pain. Yes, the latest MRI shows I definitely have a hip issue (FAI). That same MRI also shows that I have degenerative disk disease in my lower back. This isn't a surprise since I had surgery back in the dark ages on my back for this as well. What hurts me most and is preventing me from doing most of what I can't do, though, is my knee pain. Yes, I've got a lot wrong with me but if the knee gets fixed, it'll be game on. Note that the knee pain may be sourced in my hip though.

Before I heard the latest news I made an appointment to follow up with a ART specialist/chiropractor with the hope that he could help if my knee is really ITB. Tomorrow I'll try to get an appointment for one of the recommended physiatrists. This hopefully will be the road to the miracle cure. Why does it have to be cobbles?

6 comments:

Julie said...

Hi Rockstar,
I am so sorry to hear about all of your issues. Hopefully your health care providers will help you with your future plans and care. I will keep my fingers crossed for you:) Good luck!

Big Clyde said...

Good luck, Rock. We'll be thinking of you.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Whoa! Cobblestones indeed.

Good luck fixing this problem.

Tri Mommy said...

Hang in there. At least they didn't look at everything and call to schedule an emergency surgery. That's the best silver lining I could come up with... I'll be thinking of you...

Jess said...

Goodness it sounds like they are making you jump through a lot of hoops to get everything all figured out. Good luck! I hope everything goes well!

Unknown said...

Wow ... talk about inefficient? What the heck is a physiatrist going to be able to tell the doctor that the mri and radiographs cannot? Sounds like a waste of time. Hope you are able to navigate this pile of crap and get the answers you are looking for!