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Specialties
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Conditions I Treat
- cervical myelopathy
- femoral neuropathy
- peripheral neuropathy
- peroneal neuropathy
- shoulder instability Show All
Procedures I Perform
- balance rehabilitation
- botox for spasticity
- gait analysis
- joint injection
- multiple sclerosis rehabilitation Show All
About the Provider
Richard D. Zorowitz, M.D. is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed an internship in internal medicine at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, IL. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, and Brain Injury Medicine.
Dr. Zorowitz focuses his clinical activities on the rehabilitation of stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions. He specializes in the management of spasticity, including oral medications, botulinum toxin injections, and intrathecal baclofen. His research activities focus on stroke rehabilitation, including motor recovery, hemiplegic shoulder pain, dysphagia, spasticity, pseudobulbar affect, and functional outcomes.
Education
- Residency Program: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (1989)
- Residency Program: Long Island Jewish Medical Center (1986)
- Medical School: Tulane School of Medicine (1985)
- Board Certification: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine
- Board Certification: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Brain Injury Medicine
- Board Certification: American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Publications
Wu, D., Qian, L., Zorowitz RD, Zhang, L., Qu, Y., Yuan, Y. Effects on decreasing upper-limb poststroke muscle tone using transcranial directcurrent stimulation: a randomized sham-controlled study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2013; 94(1): 1-8.
Halpern R, Gillard P, Graham GD, Varon, SF, Zorowitz RD. Adherence with Oral Medications in the Treatment of Spasticity. PM&R 2013; 5(9): 747-756. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2013.04.022
Holloway RG, Arnold RM, Creutzfeldt CJ, Lewis EF, Lutz BJ, McCann RM, Rabinstein AA, Saposnik G, Sheth KN, Zahuranec DB, Zipfel GJ, Zorowitz RD; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, and Council on Clinical Cardiology. Palliative and end-of-life care in stroke: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 2014; 45: 1887-1916. DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000015
Veerakumara A, Cheng JJ, Sunshineb A, Yeb X, Zorowitz RD, Anderson WS. Baclofen dosage after traumatic spinal cord injury: A multi-decade retrospective analysis. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2015: 129; 50–56.
Ganapathy V, Graham GD, DiBonaventura MD, Gillard PJ, Goren, A, Zorowitz R. Caregiver burden, productivity loss, and indirect costs associated with caring for patients with post-stroke spasticity. Clin Interven Aging 2015; 10: 1793–1802. DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S91123. PMCID: PMC4644168.
Coslick A, Zorowitz RD, Wright SM. Clinical Excellence in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Examples from the Published Literature. J Rehabil Med 2016; 48(3): 253-258. DOI:10.2340/16501977-2058.
Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, Bates B, Cherney LR, Cramer SC, Deruyter F, Eng JJ, Fisher B, Harvey RL, Lang CE, MacKay-Lyons M, Ottenbacher KJ, Pugh S, Reeves MJ, Richards LG, Stiers W, Zorowitz RD; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association [published online ahead of print May 4, 2016]. Stroke 2016; 47(6): e98-169.
Hammond FM, Alexander DN, Cutler AJ, D'Amico S, Doody RS, Sauve W, Zorowitz RD, Davis CS, Shin P, Ledon F, Yonan C, Formella AE, Siffert J. PRISM II: An open-label study to assess effectiveness of dextromethorphan/ quinidine for pseudobulbar affect in patients with dementia, stroke or traumatic brain injury. BMC Neurology 2016; 16: 89.
Zorowitz RD. Topics in practice management. ICU-acquired weakness: A rehabilitation perspective of diagnosis, treatment, and functional management. Chest 2016; 150(4): 966–971.
Zorowitz RD, Wein TH, Dunning K, Deltombe T, Olver JH, Dave SJ, Dimyan MA, Kelemen J, Pagan FL, Evans CJ, Gillard P, Kissela BM. A screening tool to identify spasticity in need of treatment. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2017; 96(5): 315-320.
Zorowitz RD, Alexander DN, Formella AE, Ledon F, Davis C, Siffert J. Dextromethorphan/quinidine for pseudobulbar affect following stroke: Safety and effectiveness in the PRISM II trial. PM&R 2019; 11(1): 17-24. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.06.003
Halpern R, Gillard P, Graham GD, Varon, SF, Zorowitz RD. Adherence with Oral Medications in the Treatment of Spasticity. PM&R 2013; 5(9): 747-756. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2013.04.022
Holloway RG, Arnold RM, Creutzfeldt CJ, Lewis EF, Lutz BJ, McCann RM, Rabinstein AA, Saposnik G, Sheth KN, Zahuranec DB, Zipfel GJ, Zorowitz RD; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, and Council on Clinical Cardiology. Palliative and end-of-life care in stroke: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 2014; 45: 1887-1916. DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000015
Veerakumara A, Cheng JJ, Sunshineb A, Yeb X, Zorowitz RD, Anderson WS. Baclofen dosage after traumatic spinal cord injury: A multi-decade retrospective analysis. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2015: 129; 50–56.
Ganapathy V, Graham GD, DiBonaventura MD, Gillard PJ, Goren, A, Zorowitz R. Caregiver burden, productivity loss, and indirect costs associated with caring for patients with post-stroke spasticity. Clin Interven Aging 2015; 10: 1793–1802. DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S91123. PMCID: PMC4644168.
Coslick A, Zorowitz RD, Wright SM. Clinical Excellence in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Examples from the Published Literature. J Rehabil Med 2016; 48(3): 253-258. DOI:10.2340/16501977-2058.
Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, Bates B, Cherney LR, Cramer SC, Deruyter F, Eng JJ, Fisher B, Harvey RL, Lang CE, MacKay-Lyons M, Ottenbacher KJ, Pugh S, Reeves MJ, Richards LG, Stiers W, Zorowitz RD; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Guidelines for adult stroke rehabilitation and recovery: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association [published online ahead of print May 4, 2016]. Stroke 2016; 47(6): e98-169.
Hammond FM, Alexander DN, Cutler AJ, D'Amico S, Doody RS, Sauve W, Zorowitz RD, Davis CS, Shin P, Ledon F, Yonan C, Formella AE, Siffert J. PRISM II: An open-label study to assess effectiveness of dextromethorphan/ quinidine for pseudobulbar affect in patients with dementia, stroke or traumatic brain injury. BMC Neurology 2016; 16: 89.
Zorowitz RD. Topics in practice management. ICU-acquired weakness: A rehabilitation perspective of diagnosis, treatment, and functional management. Chest 2016; 150(4): 966–971.
Zorowitz RD, Wein TH, Dunning K, Deltombe T, Olver JH, Dave SJ, Dimyan MA, Kelemen J, Pagan FL, Evans CJ, Gillard P, Kissela BM. A screening tool to identify spasticity in need of treatment. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2017; 96(5): 315-320.
Zorowitz RD, Alexander DN, Formella AE, Ledon F, Davis C, Siffert J. Dextromethorphan/quinidine for pseudobulbar affect following stroke: Safety and effectiveness in the PRISM II trial. PM&R 2019; 11(1): 17-24. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.06.003
Insurance
Practice Locations
Member of Medical Staff
- MedStar Washington Hospital Center
- MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Awards
- Visionary in Practice Society, National Stroke Association (2001)
- Central Nervous System Council Outstanding Service Award, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2011)
- Golden Goniometer Award, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2012)
- America’s Top Physicians, Consumer’s Research Council of America (2015)
- Outstanding Contributions in the Training and Education of the Resident Staff, MedStar National Rehabilitation Network/Georgetown (2016)
