A physiatrist is a doctor who specializes in the rehabilitation and physiological treatment of patients with an illness or injury which affects movement.

These specialists have extensive knowledge of the nerves, muscles, bone, and brain. Physiatrists are also experts in pain medication.

Some common conditions that physiatrists treat are rheumatoid arthritis, neurological and spinal disorders and injuries, chronic pain disorders, like fibromyalgia, and musculoskeletal issues, like broken bones and torn muscles.

These physicians also often coordinate a team of other specialists in order to maximize the patient’s recovery, such as occupational therapists, speech therapists, neurologists, orthopedists, and counselors.

Best medical doctors in New York City (NYC)

A Doctor of Medicine (MD) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In some countries, the MD denotes a first professional graduate degree awarded upon initial graduation from medical school. In other countries, the MD denotes an academic research doctorate, higher doctorate, honorary doctorate or advanced clinical coursework degree restricted to medical graduates; in those countries, the equivalent first professional degree is titled differently (for example, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in countries following the tradition of the United Kingdom)

In 1703, the University of Glasgow's first medical graduate, Samuel Benion, was issued with the academic degree of Doctor of Medicine.

University medical education in England culminated with the MB qualification, and in Scotland the MD, until in the mid-19th century the public bodies who regulated medical practice at the time required practitioners in Scotland as well as England to hold the dual Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees (MB BS/MBChB/MB BChir/BM BCh etc.). North American medical schools switched to the tradition of the ancient universities of Scotland and began granting the MoD title rather than the MB beginning in the late 18th century. The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York (which at the time was referred to as King's College of Medicine) was the first American university to grant the MD degree instead of the MB.

Here on this website, you can find a list of best physicians near New York City and all doctors in NYC sort by specialty and expertise.

Early medical schools in North America that granted the Doctor of Medicine degrees were Columbia, Penn, Harvard, Maryland, and McGill. These first few North American medical schools that were established were (for the most part) founded by physicians and surgeons who had been trained in England and Scotland.

A feminine form, "Doctress of Medicine" or Medicinae Doctrix, has also been used by the New England Female Medical College in Boston in the 1860s. In most countries having a Doctor of Medicine degree does not mean that the individual will be allowed to practice medicine. Typically a doctor must go through a residency (medicine) for at least four years and take some form of licensing examination in their jurisdiction.