There is today a growing respect for the physiatrist as a professional figure, who is seen increasingly as a qualified physician and expert in the treatment of patients with chronic pain of the musculoskeletal system. Multiple therapeutic choices are now available to the physiatrist, including some minimally invasive techniques for pain relief such as facet joint blockade and neuromodulation of the medial branch of the spinal nerve, percutaneous vertebroplasty, hip viscosupplementation, and neurolysis of the coxofemoral joint and geniculate nerves at the knee.