Specifically, PM&R physicians: 1  Treat patients of all ages. 2  Focus treatment on function. 3  Have a broad medical expertise that allows them to treat disabling conditions throughout a personâs lifetime. 4  Diagnose and treat pain as a result of an injury, illness, or disabling condition. 5  Determine and lead a treatment/prevention plan.
The report adds that depression is the cause of numerous illnesses and disabilities which can both harm and kill teenagers. Self-harm caused by mental health issues is the third cause of death among teenagers, having taken the lives of over 120,000 teens in 2012.
1 (2013 CDC WISQARS) 2  Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for college-age youth and ages 12-18. (2013 CDC WISQARS)  More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.