Physician Credentials

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• Board Certified

  • American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (ABPM&R)

  • Subspecialty Certification – Sports Medicine

  • Subspecialty Certification – Pain Management

  • American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine

• Board Examiner

  • American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (ABPM&R)

  • American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (ABEM)

• Presenter/Expert

  • American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPM&R)

  • American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM)

  • North American Spine Society (NASS) 

 

Just as many patients consider spinal conditions frightening and confusing, so do many physicians. There is plenty of folklore to go around including stories of painful injections, unhelpful surgery, getting their “backs cracked,” or becoming paralyzed.  Physicians see long and confusing MRI reports and are often unclear as to whether they are the cause of the patient’s pain or just incidental findings. Patients want pain relief, but physicians are leery of prescribing powerful narcotics.

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Thankfully, emergency conditions of the spine are extremely rare and most symptoms resolve on their own or with simple supportive care. For those patients that have persistent or recurrent spine pain, non-operative care is extremely effective.  At Spine & Sports Physiatrists we treat thousands of patients every year, sending on average only 5-10 patients for surgical treatment yearly. This includes patients with “severe” conditions including as spinal cord injury, cervical and lumbar herniated discs, stress fractures, spondylolisthesis, radiculopathy, limb weakness, and spinal stenosis.

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At Spine & Sports Physiatrists, we specialize in elite spine diagnosis and treatment. Our physicians are active faculty at major Chicago area academic Orthopedic, Neurosurgery and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation departments. We have taught surgeons and non-surgical residents and fellows from almost every major medical school in Chicago, and have been acknowledged for our excellence in teaching.  We have been invited to give Grand Rounds at multiple local universities and hospitals as well as being invited to speak at national and international meetings regarding spinal diagnosis and management. University physicians trust us with their patients for precision diagnosis and ongoing treatment. Referring physicians commonly rely on us for diagnosis and care of their patients, selves and families.

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Physiatrists are experts in spinal diagnosis, surgical triage, individualized and effective rehabilitation programs, and invasive non-operative management of all ambulatory spinal conditions from cervical to lumbar. We are trained to make the right diagnosis, the first time, for acute and chronic conditions through careful physical examination and clinical correlation of confusing spinal imaging and electromyography. By laying out all treatment options, we allow patients to feel confident in choosing either operative or non-operative treatments. Patients notice the difference in treating with physiatrists because we specialize in treating the patient and their disability, rather than their x-ray.