Dr. Michael Y. Chang, D.O.

Michael Y. Chang, D.O., recently joined Muir Orthopaedic Specialists. The first osteopath to associate with Muir, Dr. Chang is a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, fellowship trained in pain management.

Dr. Chang completed his undergraduate work at University of California, Berkeley, graduating with high honors. His hometown role models influenced his decision to choose osteopathy because of its holistic approach to treatment. Dr. Chang earned his degree as Doctor of Osteopathy at Western University of Health Sciences School of Osteopathic Medicine in Pomona, California.

While completing his internship at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in San Bernardino, he was named Intern of the Year. Following his tenure as Chief Resident in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation, New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Chang completed a fellowship in pain management at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

His decision to join Muir Orthopaedic Specialists was based on the group’s organized, professional and collegial environment. As a new member of the MOS team, Dr. Chang contributes his more recent experience in technology and treatment options. His foundation in osteopathy and musculoskeletal medicine adds to MOS’s expertise with a myriad of tools to treat the whole patient both in mind and in body.

Dr. Chang specializes in physiatry (physical medicine and rehabilitation), sports medicine and pain management. Physiatry not only employs the usual tools of medicine, but also uses physical agents and therapeutic exercise in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that produce pain, impairment and disability.

Dr. Chang’s primary focus is on both diagnostic and therapeutic treatments of the spine. His repertoire of treatments for low back pain includes minimally invasive approaches such as kyphoplasty and spinal cord stimulation, a newer and innovative technique. In elderly patients with chronic pain due to osteoporotic or compression fractures and other conditions, kyphoplasty, along with other therapies, is effective in eliminating the pain. The minimally invasive procedure involves the use of a balloon to restore the vertebral body height and shape, followed by bone cement to strengthen the spine.

Spinal cord stimulation, a procedure that uses an electrical current to treat chronic pain, may be an option for those patients who have tried and failed with other pain management treatments. With this treatment, a small pulse generator implanted in the spine transmits electrical pulses to the spinal cord.

Working as an integral team member of the MOS team, Dr. Chang diagnoses, implements and supervises a physical and occupational therapy regimen. When surgery is required, he lends his expert care in both pre- and post-operative regimens – his goal is always to help the patient heal and return pain-free to a normal lifestyle.

Dr. Chang is dedicated to his continuing education and research. His article on occupational low back pain was published in Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews, August 2006. He has presented at education conferences of the Association of Academic Physiatrists and American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on topics of chronic low back pain and lower extremity weakness.

Dr. Chang is board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is a member of several other professional associations, including the Association of Academic Physiatrists, the Physiatric Association of Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation the International Spinal Interventional Society and American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.