The Intersection Model Between Rehabilitation Medicine and Complementary and Integrative Medicine Sciences.

Abstract

Rehabilitation Medicine (RM) and Complementary Integrative Medicine (CIM) intersect to create a third rehabilitation model: Complementary Integrative Rehabilitation Medicine (CIRM). CIRM combines the ethos and modalities of two medical discipline approaches focused on functional recovery and life quality. The CIRM Networking Group (CIRM NG) is, as far as we know, the first initiative to sponsor, support, and foster the interdisciplinary intersection between RM and CIM disciplines. The CIRM NG, a networking group of the ACRM founded in 2017, has advanced CIM within RM: It has sponsored expert speakers, surveyed rehabilitation professionals, conducted systematic reviews, and trained and mentored CIM and RM scientists. CIRM NG has also secured R13 training grants to support career development for early scholars from underrepresented minority (URM) and diversity backgrounds. CIRM NG advances the intersection of RM and CIM by framing CIRM body of research and encouraging a skilled CIRM workforce. This commentary describes the CIRM efforts and the promising utility of integrating CIM and RM to help solve complex health problems for people with disabilities.