American Rehabilitation Associates

So here is my thought for the day... How to approach treatment of any musculoskeletal problem? Most of the time the symptom is pain. But what is the root of the problem? For me, the most important aspect is evaluation of, what I call, biomechanical chain. Each joint, tendon, muscle does not work separately on its own. It works in conjunction with multiple other units, controlled by our nervous system. We do not just contract our quadriceps or biceps to perform a movement. We ...move, on purpose, to perform a function. This is rather complex task that requires simultaneous activation of multiple units. Only evaluating the whole chain will allow me as a clinician to make a educated decision as to what is the problem. Then, once the problem is identified, treatment can begin. It is step by step process, escalating form non-invasive interventions all the way to the surgery. It requires coordination of care between multiple specialists over rather long period of time. In my opinion, healing of musculoskeletal injury takes a long time - sometimes 6-12 weeks of treatment before the patient can actually see progress. This is where I see the benefit of seeing a physiatrist rather than orthopedic surgeon or primary care physician, because we are uniquely trained to not only identify the problem, but also coordinate the care as well as provide the interventions and treatment that are necessary, short of surgery. Treatment of musculoskeletal problem is veyr complex and should not be taken lightly, it does not stop with disappearance of pain. Have a happy holidays everybody! Again, please contact me for further details about my practice. Although some of the treatment modalities may not be covered by insurance, however majority of treatment should be! Ara Chitchyan, MD See more

So, going back to previous post, I would like to introduce you to stem cells. Actually, it is only a small part of a new direction on orthopedics and rehabilitation medicine called regenerative medicine. Remember evolution of sci-fi movies? First it was all about robots and mechanical body parts. Then came cyborgs. Then came clones... I would like you to think of regenerative medicine as the future of medicine. Its been few years now that stem cells and their potential were d...iscovered. And I am not talking about controversial stem cell topics, like cloning etc. I am talking about using your own stem cells widely available in some tissues to repair the damage in the other areas that do not have their own stem cells. There are different types of stem cells. However for musculoskeletal implications the type that is beneficial are mesenchymal stem cells or multipotent stromal cells, that can multiply and differentiate into multiple types of cells, more improtantly for this topic - bone cells, cartilage cells and potentially any other connective tissue cells. All they need is a signal from, what we doctors call, growth factors. These factors are released from usually damaged tissue, but most improtantly also are found in large quantities in platelets. One of the first interventions in this new direction was PRP injections or Platelet Rich Plasma injections. This procedure deliveres large amounts of growth factors into damaged or otherwise non-healing area (think tennis elbow). However, although the growth factors were there, there were no cells potentially able to replace the damaged tissue. Then came stem cells... Do you want to know wha happens next? Continue to like and follow my page. Oh, and contact me if you have any questions or would like to be considered for treatment! Ara Chitchyan, MD See more

Are you suffering from osteoarthritis? Or, maybe, you've been out golfing yesterday and "over-rotated" your shoulder/back/hips. Or, in your wild youth days you went skiing and tore your ACL that was repaired and now your knee hurts and you cannot run anymore... Or, as many of us do, you are "working out" at a local gym and felt particularly "shwartzneggery" few weeks ago and did something that you were not suppose to do. These are examples of injuries and problems majority of... us will have at some point in our life. Combined with work related or over-use related issues like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Lateral Epicondylitis (tennis elbow), jumper's or runner's knee, musculoskeletal issues will account for fair amount of headache in our lives. The traditional approach is to go see an orthopedic surgeon. Many X-rays and MRI's later, thousands of dollars later, countless hours waiting for this and that, lost time and frustration, you have a diagnosis. The next step in many cases will be some sort of intervention, possibly surgery, followed by lengthy in most of the cases recovery, wearing a cast, a boot, a sling or another "device". Is it really necessary? Isn't there a better way? Medicine as a science is moving forward at an amazing pace, but in orthopedics we are still using centuries old techniques and medevial tools. Share your stories and like our page! See more

Please check back frequently to follow the updates. I will be posting a dicussion subject daily

Big news everybody! New practice is up and running in Atlanta, GA!

New location coming soon. October 1 tentatively the d-day

started the move! in PO BOX for now...

I am pleased to announce the birth of ARA. Like phoenix rising from the ashes, this too has to rise from the ashes. Stay tuned for updates on location, office and staff!