Welcome to Stanford
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Dr. Matthew Smuck,          Chief of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Professor


We are dedicated to providing the best patient care, to advancing rehabilitation science, and to educating and training the future leaders in rehabilitation medicine. We are proud to be the home of one of nation's top ranked Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency programs and rehabilitation research programs, each supported by a large and diverse group of faculty. You are invited to explore this site to learn more about our distinguished faculty, our excellence in patient care, our scientific contributions, and our multiple educational programs. 


LATEST NEWS

PM&R Alum Events 2024!

Our Stanford PM&R Alumni had an enriching experience at both the IPSIS in Boston and the AAPM&R Annual Assembly in San Diego in 2024! Stanford PM&R is dedicated to fostering strong relationships within our alumni network. If you need to update your contact information to stay informed about future activities and opportunities, please reach out to Erin Hart, ejhart@stanford.edu. We greatly value your ongoing connection and contributions to our Stanford PM&R community, and we look forward to continuing to engage with you! If there's anything specific you would like to discuss or ask, feel free to let us know!


The Future of Female Athletic Health

We're thrilled to feature the remarkable work of Dr. Emily Kraus in the below video, hosted by the Stanford University School of Engineering.

Her tireless efforts in promoting wellness amongst women and athletes truly embodies Stanford's commitment to exceptional care. We invite you to watch and gain insight into her impactful work!

Emily Kraus, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor



Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Smuck!

Shout out to our very own and very wonderful Dr. Matthew Smuck, who will be awarded at the September 2024 International Pain & Spine Intervention Society (IPSIS) Annual Meeting the 2024 Charles Aprill Award.

This award is presented annually to the IPSIS member who has made significant career-spanning contributions to the field of interventional pain medicine.

Past award recipients represent the most influential minds who have made a lasting imprint on the Society and the field and is the highest distinction that IPSIS bestows.

We are so VERY proud of Dr. Smuck and all he has accomplished as a leader and teacher and applaud his extraordinary work for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders.  There just aren’t the words... except CONGRATUATIONS and WELL DESERVED!



Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Stephens!

Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Stephens who we recently matched with and will be our Stanford 2025-26 Interventional Spine & Musculoskeletal Medicine Fellowship. Andrew comes to us from the University of Rochester PM&R residency program, and we can’t wait to work with him and welcome him to the farm!



Welcome to the Team!

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Anne Goldring and Dr. Andrew Collins to the PM&R Team at Stanford!

Dr. Anne Goldring joined us in October 2023 as a Clinical Assistant Professor in PM&R Spine & Sports. She will be serving our patient community in the Stanford Medicine TriValley Pleasanton location.

Dr. Andrew Collins joined us in January 2024, following his attending role in Pediatric Rehabilitation at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Stanford PM&R division, with his practice location primarily residing in Palo Alto, CA/LPCH.



2023 AAPM&R Distinguished Member Award

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Fredericson on being awarded the 2023 AAPM&R Distinguished Member Award at the November annual assembly meeting in New Orleans.

 



Dr. Mattew Smuck, Vice Chair of Rehabilitation Services in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery!



Dr. Huynh Promoted!

Please join us in double congratulating Dr. Lisa Huynh’s appointment as our new Assistant Program Director for the PM&R Residency Program, and her promotion to Clinical Associate Professor!  Dr. Huynh has been an integral part of our department as well as the education program for our residents!



PM&R Fellows give AMSSM Sports Ultrasound Case Series lecture



Congratulations!

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Fredericson, who was just appointed Co-Director for the Stanford Center on Longevity. The Stanford Center on Longevity is an exciting and collaborative Stanford program that will allow a platform for Dr. Fredericson's focus on promoting lifestyle medicine, health and performance, education and research programs.

 



More Good News!

Our very own Chief and Professor, Dr. Matthew Smuck, just returned from the NASS 2021 annual meeting and was honored to receive the Henry Farfan Award which recognizes outstanding contributions in spine related basic science research.

Take a look here for more information: https://www.spine.org/Who-We-Are/Grants-Awards/Recognition-Awards.

Congratulations Dr. Smuck!



Tokyo Olympics 2020

Dr. Michael Fredericson is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, head physician for Stanford’s Track and Field team, Stanford Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sports Medicine Fellowship Director, and one of the 2020 Olympics team physician! On top of caring for a variety of athletes and injuries, he plays a special role in evaluating and monitoring for COVID-19.



Welcome to the Team!

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Raymond Chou and Dr. Joshua Rittenberg to the PM&R Team at Stanford!

Dr. Raymond Chou joined us this month as a Clinical Assistant Professor in Hand and Upper Extremity. He will be serving our patient community at the Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center in Redwood City, CA.

Dr. Josh Rittenberg will be joining us on September 1, following long stint at Kaiser Oakland. He will be a Clinical Associate Professor in the Stanford Spine division, with his practice location primarily residing in Emeryville.



Leading Research

Always on the forefront of research for spine health our very own Chief of PM&R at Stanford, Dr. Matthew Smuck is again helping to lead the charge… see here he is quoted in SpineUniverse.com in their “Latest News and Research” on the outcomes of a nationwide study for chronic vertebrogenic low back pain… as always we are so proud! 

Article:  https://www.spineuniverse.com/professional/news/intracept-12-month-trial-results-sponsored



Promotion Announcements!

Congratulations to Dr. Joshua Levin and Dr. Eugene Roh on their promotions to Clinical Associate Professor!

Dr. Joshua Levin is a physician, clinical educator, and researcher. He is Director of the PM&R Spine Fellowship, Interim Director of the PM&R Residency program, and a member of both Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery departments at Stanford University. Dr. Levin serves on multiple committees, and treats the healthcare community in the areas of Back Pain, Bursitis, Cervical Myelopathy, Electromyography (EMG), Epidural Steroid Injection, Herniated Disc, Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, Nerve Conduction Study, Radiofrequency Ablation, Sciatica (Lumbar Radiculopathy), and Spinal Stenosis.

Dr. Eugene Roh specializes in Achilles Tendon Injury, Elbow Pain and Problems, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, Osteoarthritis, Rotator Cuff Injury, Shoulder Sports Injuries, Sports-Related Injuries, and Tendon/Ligament Problems. He is a triple board sports medicine specialist and started the sports & musculoskeletal ultrasound clinic in the Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine departments. Additionally, he is the Director of the Stanford Musculoskeletal Sports Ultrasound Medicine Service. Dr. Roh was one of Team USA's physicians during the 2018 Olympic games, worked during the NBA finals, and serves as a team physician for the SF 49ers, Stanford Men's Soccer, Golf, Fencing, and Wrestling.



Stanford PM&R Faculty and Trainees Contributions to the field of Spine Care

Check out the new NASS (North American Spine Society) Spine Care Landmark Reading List. Stanford PM&R Faculty and Program Graduates are prominently featured in this list which includes 19 surgical papers and 24 medical and interventional papers.

Stanford PM&R faculty authored 25% of the medical papers and another 4 papers are authored by recent graduates from our residency program and spine fellowship program, creating a Stanford PM&R presence in more than 40% of the papers in the NASS List! Congrats to Stanford Faculty Drs. Matthew Smuck, Josh Levin, and Lisa Huynh, as well as Stanford Program Graduates Drs. Patricia Zheng (now at UCSF) and Byron Schneider (now at Vanderbilt), and to all of those who helped them in their well-recognized work - we are so proud of their amazing contributions to the field of Spine Intervention!



Michael Fredericson, MD

PM&R Professor, Fellowship Director

Dr. Michael Fredericson is a PM&R Professor, Fellowship Director, Researcher, and most importantly, an extraordinary human being. He continues to find new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat the multitude of sports injuries, both for professional athletes and weekend warriors alike. We are so very honored to have access to his experience for both our Residency and Fellowship Programs. Dr. Fredericson has quite a few recently published articles and a news news report which speak to his expertise for both health challenges and sports injury - we invite you to take a look at some of them:



Dr. Jeremy Stanek

Founder of the Stanford Ortho/PM&R Performing Arts Medicine Program

Dr. Stanek has taken on the challenge of putting together a team of Stanford Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Sports Medicine and ENT physicians to address the treatments for injuries and conditions caused in the work of performing artists.  This innovative and collaborative program focuses on cutting-edge research and exceptional patient care to diagnose and effectively treat injuries for these patients.  This program is one of the first that focuses on this patient population.  We are so proud of Dr. Stanek and the team.



Digital Health at Stanford

Growth & Excellence in Orthopaedic Surgery

What does digital healh mean to you?

I think of it broadly to mean any way of making healthcare better by leveraging digital technologies. Simply put, it’s the use of commonly available digital devices to make healthcare better.

Our very own Chief of PM&R Dr. Matthew Smuck has been recognized for his extraordinary and innovative research in the area of Digital Health.  Recently appointed a Stanford Professor Dr. Smuck’s remarkable leadership in this space is covered comprehensively in The Stanford Center for Digital Health Landscape Report.  Take a look in the Faculty Interviews sections where he is highlighted in the Center Outreach Initiative section of the report as key personnel in the recently launched NIH-funded Restore Center, and for his research lab, the Wearable Health Lab.  The Wearable Health Lab harnesses the power of wearable biosensor data to span the gap between a qualitative approach toward a quantitative approach in research, prevention, and treatment of orthopedic and neurological disease.  Congratulations to Dr. Smuck for his impressive research efforts and for his recent promotion!



Resident Application Information Now Available!

The Stanford Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program application deadline is October 30th, 2020.  All interviews will be held virtually.  For more information, please visit our residency application page. 

 


Stanford PM&R Residents Rising to the Challenge!

On March 26, 2020, Drs. John Chan, Anne Kuwabara, and Nitin Prabhakar, and three students from Yale (School of Medicine: Rachel Esparza BS, Maryam Ige BE; School of Public Health: Catherine Stratton BA) were selected as one of 230 international teams to participate in the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering, Innovation, and Design (CBID) COVID-19 Design Challenge. To tackle the challenge of a scarce N95 supply, they proposed a product called Mask-xtend, a disposable mask cover designed to prolong the life of N95s in current supply.



Celebrating Our Matches!

Stanford Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency program is proud to present the Class of 2024! Happy Match Day!



Newly Elected SIS President!

Dr. Matthew Smuck
Newly Elected SIS President!

Our very own, Chief of PM&R, Dr. Matthew Smuck was elected by his peers to be the next Spine Intervention Society President.  Dr. Smuck has been a pioneer in his field and is just an all-round wonderful physician and mentor.  We look forward to all the great things he will be doing for the Society and our field. 



November 14-17, 2019

Stanford at AAPM&R Annual Assembly

Our PM&R Residents and Attending Faculty had a huge showing at AAPM&R 2019!! 14 residents attended the conference - resident contributions included: 1 podium presentation, 2 PhyzTalks, 12 poster presentations, and 1 medical student panel discussion! Stanford PM&R Faculty were busy too! Dr. Smuck, Dr. Fredericson, and Dr. Roh were up front and center - sharing their expertise in multiple panels and talks.

Other big news: Drs. Giacomazzi, Lowe, Kuwabara and Prabhakar WON the Resident Quiz Bowl competing against 16 other programs and Anita Lowe, MD WON the PhyzTalk award! Talk about talent!

Additionally, we had a record number attend the Alumni Reception on Friday night. It was a good time to be had by all. Check out our pictures to see more!

June 4, 2019

Congratulations to Dr Ninad Karandikar, MD

Winner of the AAP's 2019 Innovation & Impact Award. He is Medical Director at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Associate Professor at Stanford University. He has played a vital role in developing new programs at the VA (the MSK Ultrasound and Regenerative Medicine Program) and Stanford University (an innovative didactic curriculum in prosthetics and orthotics).

October 26, 2018

PM&R Alumni Event at AAPMR - Orlando, FL

Dr. Smuck hosted the 2018 Alumni Social at the October 25-28 AAPM&R in Orlando, FL.  We had an excellent turn out, current Faculty and Residents were able to reconnect with many of our past grads.  A fun time was had by all.  Please, if you did not receive an invite send us your email so we can update our Alumni List and we can catch up with you at the next one. You can send your updated email to erin8@stanford.edu.

 

February 6, 2018

Eugene Roh serving as Team USA physician in the Winter Olympics 2018

Dr Eugene Roh, a native of South Korea, he traveled to Seoul in 1988 to atend the Summer Olympics. Now a clinical assistant professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the School of Medicine. Dr Roh is an expert in Sports Medicine and trears patients in the Stanford Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic in Redwood City, as well as Stanford athletics at the Sports Medicine Center at the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation. He specializes in nonoperative diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries using ultrasound and regenerative medicine.

Writer Grace Hammerstrom asked Dr Roh some questions abour his interests in Olympics and working with athletes, see full article here >