PD Dr. Pawel Bak, Senior Consultant for Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine

Treatment specialities:

Physical medicine, rehabilitative medicine, pain management, naturopathic treatment

" I help patients express their needs and support them on their path of healing and returning to everyday life and work.

Every patient my team and I can help use stairs or play ball with their grandchildren without pain using the various options of conservative treatment feels like a little victory. A victory over age-related wear, overexertion at work or during sports, and sometimes even poor habits. What I enjoy about rehabilitative medicine is that we treat the person as a whole and can already take action before they fall ill.

How can I protect my back even though I do hard physical labour? How important is nutrition after prosthetic surgery? Which medical conditions can acupuncture, chiropractics, special pain therapy or herbal remedies help with? My support is tailored to the individual patient. Even after surgeries I support Gelenk-Klinik patients throughout the after-care, right up to applications and occupational reintegration.

Additional Qualifications

• Chiropractic
• Special pain therapy
• Sports medicine
• Naturopathy
• Emergency Medical Services
• Radiation protection technical knowledge (emergency and skeleton)
• Psychosomatic primary care

Medical Career

Medical training:

• 1981 to 1987 at Medical Academy of Gdansk

Medical placements:

• 1987 to 1988: Registrar in the general and vascular surgery clinic, Medizinische Akademie Bromberg
• 1989 to 1991: Registrar in the orthopaedic clinic, Universitätsklinikum Göttingen
• 1991 to 1993: Registrar in the surgical clinics Bad Gandersheim, Osterode/Harz and Neustadt/Coburg
• 1993 to 1996: Registrar on the orthopaedic ward at Rehabilitationszentrum Lippstadt and Klinik am Park, Bad Rothenfelde
• 1996 to 2009: Admitted as specialist in physical and rehabilitative medicine, Institut für Physiotherapie, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
• 2009 to 2014: Chief physician of the Rehabilitation ward / head of Berufsgenossenschaftliche Heilverfahrenssteuerung, Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik (BGU), Frankfurt/Main
• 2015: Section director for conservative orthopaedics, spine centre at Orthopädische Klinik Markgröningen
• 2015 to 2017: Chief physician for conservative orthopaedics and pain management, Evangelische Stiftung Volmarstein
• 2018 to 2021: Medical director of rehabilitation, Schön Klinik Vogtareuth and medical director of ambulatory rehabilitation, Schön Klinik Bad Aibling
• since 2021: Physical and rehabilitative medicine specialist at Gelenk-Klinik Gundelfingen

Doctorate dissertation:

• Diagnostic significance of surface EMG and a visual technique for assessing motion stereotypes in the example of hip hyperextension

Habilitation dissertation:

• Multidimensional assessment as rational basis for optimising the process and outcome in rehabilitation

Fellowships

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Physikalische Medizin und Rehabilitation e.V. (DGPMR)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Manuelle Medizin e.V.
• >Managing Editor/scientific advisory council for the journal Physikalische Medizin, Rehabilitationsmedizin, Kurortmedizin, Thieme Verlag
• Scientific advisory council for the journal Manuelle Medizin, Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH

Awards and Prizes

• 1998: Spitzner Preis für Physikalische Medizin
• 2010: DGOU Rehabilitation Research Award
• 2015: Eugen Münch Prize as a member of the SMOOTH study group

Publications

• Bak, P.; Lohsträter, A.; Müller, W.-D.; Bocker, B.; Smolenski, U. C.
  The Western Ontario and McMasters Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) – Theoretical Framework, Psychometric Properties and Appropriateness for Measurement of Function and Health in Trauma Population.
  Physikalische Medizin 2008; 18(05): 256 - 264, DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1082308.
• Bak, P.; Müller, W. D.; Bocker, B.; Smolenski, U. C.
  Short-Term Patterns of Recovery from Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty after Multidisciplinary Inpatient Rehabilitation.
  Physikalische Medizin 2008; 18(01): 11 - 18, DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-993195.
• Bak, P.; Müller, W.-D.; Bocker, B.; Smolenski, U. C.
  Responsiveness of the SF-36 and FIM in Lower Extremity Amputees Undergoing a Multidisciplinary Inpatient Rehabilitation.
  Physikalische Medizin 2006; 16(05): 280 - 288, DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-940196.
• Bak, P.; Müller, W.-D.; Liebing, T.; Bocker, B.; Smolenski, U. C.
  Kraft oder Sensomotorik in der Rehabilitation nach lumbaler Nukleotomie - Eine randomisierte, kontrollierte, klinische Studie.
  Physikalische Medizin 2006; 16(03): 139 - 143, DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-932599.
• Bak, P.; Bocker, B.; Müller, W.-D.; Lohsträter, A.; Smolenski, U. C.
  Zertifizierungs- und Akkreditierungssysteme als Instrument des Qualitätsmanagements in der Rehabilitation (Teil 2) - Charakterisierung der meist verbreiteten Systeme.
  Physikalische Medizin 2004; 14(06): 283 - 290, DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-828396.