Physiatry is a medical-specialist discipline, also called Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, which deals with neuro-motor rehabilitation derived from:

• a trauma;

• a disability resulting from an accident;

• a congenital disability;

• an orthopedic surgery;

• a stroke or a heart attack;

• an angiological disease;

• a neurological problem (sclerosis, paresis...);

and follows all aspects—work, sports, psychological, and relational—of the patient's disability or post-traumatic period, developing an appropriate and personalized rehabilitation plan.

The physiatrist identifies the specialized medical rehabilitation protocol and the methods and duration of physical medicine and rehabilitation services, through the physiatric examination and the compilation of the medical record.

He or she is responsible for the rehabilitation project and coordinates the technical interventions. He or she collaborates with the physiotherapist and the occupational therapist, and diagnoses the impairment causing the disability, performs the functional diagnosis, and develops the rehabilitation prognosis.

The interdisciplinary nature of physiatry is perhaps the aspect that most characterizes the physiatrist.