the branch of medicine devoted to the management of physical disabilities, as resulting from rheumatic disease, asthma, poliomyelitis, etc
See also rehabilitation (sense 2)
physical medicine in American English
noun
the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury by means of physical agents, as manipulation, massage, exercise, heat, or water
Also called: physiatrics, physiatry
Word origin
[1935–40]This word is first recorded in the period 1935–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Rhodesian ridgeback, bingo, blitz, complementation, walk-through
Examples of 'physical medicine' in a sentence
physical medicine
He rose to become a pioneer in the field of physical medicine and rheumatology.