Physical medicine and rehabilitation: critical role in disaster response.

The emerging, critical role of the medical specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, in disaster response deserves notice in this global forum dedicated to integrating relevant medical specialty perspectives into disaster medicine and public health preparedness. Trauma rehabilitation, the rehabilitation of injuries associated with physical trauma, focuses on early rehabilitation interventions of injuries including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic amputations, peripheral nerve injuries, multiple musculoskeletal trauma, and burns.1 This commentary characterizes the role of PM&R during the response stage of several recent large-scale natural disasters including Hurricane Katrina and the earthquakes in Kashmir, India (2005), Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China (2008), and Haiti (2010). Relevant, significant disaster recovery and preparedness efforts are included as well.2