Physical Education, Exercise, Fitness and Sports: Early PM&R Leaders Build a Strong Foundation

The Evolution of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Sports Medicine

“…In 1932, George Deaver, MD, who often is considered to be the grandfather of rehabilitation medicine [6] and the progenitor of PM&R, coauthored with John Coulter, MD, the influential article titled “Physical Medicine Applied to Athletic Injuries” [1]. Keenly interested in physical medicine and fitness, Deaver practiced sports medicine and also coauthored the text titled Prevention and Treatment of Athletic Injuries in 1936 [1]. Deaver served as the medical director of the School of Physical Therapy at New York University and director at the Institute for the Crippled and Disabled (a name later changed to the International Center for the Disabled) in New York City.…”

“…Baruch established a committee of medical and scientific experts in 1943 that included Drs. Krusen, Rusk, and Coulter to plan for and invest in the development of the medical specialty of PM&R [1]. A subcommittee on physical fitness chaired by Robert Darling, MD, the first chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Columbia University in New York City, emphasized the importance of physical fitness and exercise physiology to the development of PM&R. That committee's report [7], published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , describes the functional and holistic focus of PM&R in its definition of fitness.…”

“…A subcommittee on physical fitness chaired by Robert Darling, MD, the first chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Columbia University in New York City, emphasized the importance of physical fitness and exercise physiology to the development of PM&R. That committee's report [7], published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , describes the functional and holistic focus of PM&R in its definition of fitness. The report, which states that “Physical fitness is the functional capacity to perform a task and encompasses the psychological will to do the task as well as the physical attributes such as cardiovascular, muscular, and nervous system attributes” [7], suggests that all physical examinations should include assessments of physical fitness and function, especially for people with a disability, and recommends a prescription identifying specific training or therapy when necessary [1].…”

“…Frank Krusen, MD, who is considered the father of physical medicine for his efforts to establish PM&R as an entity in the American Board of Medical Specialties, was one of the first sports medicine team physicians. Krusen, like many of his predecessors and early leaders in that field, was drawn to PM&R as a result of his interest in physical education, exercise physiology, and athletics [1]. Mirroring Krusen's mindset were some of the first U.S. organizations for sports medicine: the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in the late 1800s; the National Athletic Trainers' Association in 1938; and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), which was founded by physiologist Joseph Wolfe, PhD, in 1954.…”

John Stanley Coulter, MD, and the Emergence of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the Early 20th Century

“…Certainly Coulter and Krusen were colleagues and collaborators, and each is worthy of the title, “father of physical medicine”—a title that reflects both their partnership and their foundational efforts on behalf of the specialty of PM&R [1,48]. In 1943, when financier Bernard Baruch established a committee of medical and scientific experts to further expand the medical specialty of PM&R through research and training, Coulter and Krusen were both appointed, along with Howard Rusk, another major leader in the field of PM&R who is often referred to as the “father of rehabilitation medicine” [50].…”