Newsletter

Since 2001 I have served my client’s needs with a Portland office at 136 Commercial St, in the heart of the Old Port. While that location was centrally located, it had several draw backs, most notably a lack of parking. In an effort to serve my clients better, I have decided to expand the number of places in which I can examine clients, and improve the quality of those locations. In order to do that, I am closing the Portland office and relocating the office to the Suite 115 on the ground floor of the Lafayette Center in Kennebunk. The Lafayette Center is the large old brick mill building at the corner of Storer St. and US Route 1. I am also opening an exam site at 251 Main St in Yarmouth. I will still maintain an exam site in Augusta at 5 Waban St.

The mailing address for the Kennebunk office is Suite 115, Lafayette Center, Kennebunk, ME. The Lafayette Center is less than five minutes from the Maine Turnpike Kennebunk/Kennebunkport exit (Exit 26). To get to the Lafayette Center, take the Maine Turnpike to Exit 26, and head toward Kennebunk. At the traffic circle follow the signs for Route 1 South. The physical location of the Lafayette Center is at the intersection of Storer St. and Route 1 in Kennebunk. There is limited parking on the Storer St. side of the Lafayette Center, but there is ample parking behind the Lafayette Center. To get to the parking behind the building, turn onto Berry Ct., which leads to a large parking lot behind the building. I do expect my phone numbers to change, but not until May 1st.

Dr. Phelps

Additional Exam Sites in Maine

Lewiston Exam Site: MRA Medical Rehabilitation Associates,
77 Bates Street, Suite 102, Lewiston, ME 04240 (map)

Augusta Exam Site: Pinnacle Physical Therapy,
5 Wabon St, Augusta, ME (map)

Dr. Phelps Selected by Consumer's Research Council of America as One of America's Top Surgeons

Dr. Phelps was selected for inclusion in the 2002-2003 consumers "Guide to America's Top Surgeons" by the Consumers' Research Council of America, an independent research company based in Washington, D.C., that evaluates professional services throughout America.  (continued)

Step 1:   Start with one ball. Toss it from one hand to the other, back and forth, in an easy arch that peaks at eye level. Do this over and over, until the arcs are reproducible and until the arcs come easily     (continued)

If you suspect that one or more of these issues are behind your client’s difficulty, I can help!   (continued)

Using the 5th Edition of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment for Evaluating Permanent Impairment of the Lumbar Spine

General

Revisions in evaluation Permanent Impairment of the spine for the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th edition include:

1. Modifications in the use of the Diagnosis-related Estimate method and the Range of Motion method
2. Impairment is rated only when the individual has reached maximum medical improvement.
3. Impairments within a Diagnosis-related Estimate category encompass a range and can be adjusted within a 3% range
4. Spinal cord injury is evaluated according to the functional approach in the nervous system chapter
5. The "differentiators" in the 4th edition have been replaced by "objective findings" and are more specifically defined
6. Alterations of motion segment integrity have been redefined.   (continued)

Spinal impairment is common, symptoms related to the back and spine are among the most common of adults' everyday complaints.  Rating spinal impairment can be difficult.  Sorting out whether symptoms following an injury or illness are age-related or are related to the injury or the illness may be difficult of impossible due to the widespread occurrence of symptoms in the general population.  (continued)

If you are like me, there might have been a time when you were not sure that there was a difference between Disability and Impairment.  It was quite a while before I came to understand the difference, and if you are not sure, I would like to try to explain the difference.  (continued)

For the first time, it is possible to assess permanent impairment due to chronic pain utilizing the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.   (continued)