ABOUT DR. PATRICIA A. RICHARD

Dr. Richard has unique credentials in the following areas:

Pain Management

After reviewing the medical world's literature on traumatic torticollis (marked tilting of the head caused by trauma), Dr. Richard developed a cure for traumatic torticollis (twisting of the neck accompanying the tilted head). There had been no reported effective cure without side effects in the medical literature before publication of Dr. Richard's chapter, Post-traumatic torticollis-dystonia. Dr. Richard's presentation of this new information at the American Academy of Pain Management's annual scientific program in Washington, DC (1996) was widely noted.

Dr. Richard has written questions used for the Diplomate Certification exam in Pain Management. This is the exam that doctors take to be Certified Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management.

Medical Acupuncture

While still a medical student at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, where she received her M.D., Dr. Richard was introduced to medical acupuncture by Dr. Teruo Matsumoto. Dr. Matsumoto was Chief of Surgery and Surgical Research and author of Acupuncture for Physicians, the first English text on the subject for doctors. Since then, Dr. Richard has received additional specialized training in the field and is a Diplomate, a Fellow, and an Advanced Clinical Fellow of the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture. She has also trained with the American College of Acupuncture, the American Academy of Acupuncture, and the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary Institute for Continuing Medical Education.

Dr. Richard is board certified with training in Japanese, Chinese, German Auricular and Korean hand acupuncture methods. Her office equipment includes state-of-the-art electrodiagnostic equipment.

Recently, Dr. Richard published Acupuncture for Reduction of Post Trauma Medication in Medical Acupuncture, Volume 13, No. 1, Page 38-39.

Neurology

Dr. Richard has lectured in Connecticut, New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and Florida on various topics in neurology. She has also written a handbook entitled Neurology for Attorneys.

Among Dr. Richard's specialty areas is the treatment of Bell's Palsy, a temporary condition in which the facial muscles weaken or become paralyzed due to trauma of the 7th cranial nerve. Named for Sir Charles Bell, a Scottish surgeon who studied nerves centuries ago, Bell's Palsy can strike men or women, old more often than young, and is especially prevalent in the diabetic population and in women in their third trimester of pregnancy. A warning sign of its sudden onset may be neck pain or pain behind the ear. Because the facial area is affected by Bell's Palsy, patients should seek a physician who specializes in the head and neck region when considering treatment.

Orthopedics

Dr. Richard treats a wide variety of orthopedic cases and has made landmark medical contributions to the field relating to wound healing and fractures.

Temporomandibular Joints In addition to her medical degree, Dr. Richard also is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, Conn. She has researched craniofacial disorders at the University of Connecticut and has consulted for and completed the TMJ craniomandibular disorder program at New York University College of Dentistry.

With regard to treating TMJ, Dr. Richard is uniquely qualified. Her degrees in medicine and dentistry, her residency training programs in internal medicine and general surgery and her experience with craniofacial disorders often lead to successful outcomes in TMJ treatment, which frequently requires expertise in both medicine and dentistry.

The jaw joint system is intimately connected with the middle ear and central nervous system. TMJ problems, therefore, can be caused by many diseases, such as Lyme Disease, systemic arthritis and systemic inflammatory conditions as well as direct trauma to the jaw joint system. Occupational problems can affect TMJ as well.

At the International Symposium on Arthroscopy of the Temporomandibular Joints, Dr. Richard presented new information concerning TMJ neuropathy-myelopathy following electric burn to the extremities.

In the TMJ Diary Journal of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, Dr. Richard published an article entitled "Potential drug interactions faced daily." This was an article on the consequences of performing procedures on patients who were taking multiple medications and as a result faced possible complications from drug interactions.

Emergency Room

Because Dr. Richard has certifications in both internal medicine and general surgery, she has worked as both an emergency room trauma physician and dentist. Her analysis and research involving medical records of patients treated in various emergency rooms led to improved outcome in patients.

Aerospace/Aviation Medicine

Dr. Richard is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Aerospace Medical Association-Space Medicine Branch. She has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Senior FAA Medical Examiner. On behalf of the FAA, for 11 years until she retired from this position, she evaluated pilots for their medical competency to fly. Now Dr. Richard is an independent medical consultant on matters of aviation medicine.