Overview

The Mayo Clinic Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation began in 1935 during the early years of our specialty. Those returning from world war and the survivors of polio epidemics created a need for a new type of medical practice, one that focused on the patient as a whole, restoring the patient to their greatest degree of function. The body systems that were deemed most important to daily function were the neurologic, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems. Hence, research in our specialty has focused on these areas but in a manner that has allowed us to study the impact of illness and injury on the whole person.

Function and human performance

At Mayo Clinic, “the needs of the patient come first,” and evidence-based practice ensures that each patient receives the best available health care. Our key goal is to restore a person to their highest level of daily function and improve quality of life. Evidence-based practice and scientific discovery are integral to our practice and central themes of research investigation. Because of the many aspects of human performance, our research is truly multidisciplinary and carries basic science information to daily life. Research teams are often comprised of physicians, scientists, nurses, physical, occupational, and speech therapists that collaborate across the department and across the Mayo Clinic.

Research Focus

Our research focuses on improving health care for individuals with brain and spinal cord injury, muscle and joint rehabilitation, and cardiovascular problems. Brain and spinal cord injury research ranges from improving understanding of mechanisms of injury and neuroregeneration, to medical and physical therapeutics that may be beneficial for treatment. Pediatric rehabilitation research explores the needs of children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and nerve and muscle disorders to those with sports injuries. Cancer rehabilitation research investigates better understanding of the impact of cancer on daily function, causes and treatment of lymphedema, and prevention of complications. Muscle and joint rehabilitation research is conducted in the Sports Medicine Center and the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Spine Center. The research provides information about basic biomechanics and kinematics involved in human motion and how this impacts injuries throughout the age span. A focus on pain management and recovery from muscle disease and dysfunction is also important. A large component of our research effort focuses on functional outcome and epidemiologic description of disorders and quality of life of those living with disorders in all of these areas ranging from breast cancer to amputations to neck and back pain and sports injuries.