Certifications
� Diplomate, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
� Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners
Societies
� American Academy
of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
� American Medical Association
� American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine
� Physiatric Association of Spine, Sports and Occupational Rehabilitation
� International Spinal Injection Society
� American Pain Society
� Ohio State Medical Association
� Academy of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio
Education
Undergraduate
Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry
Postgraduate
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
Biochemistry
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Medical Doctor
Postgraduate--Residencies
and Additional Training
Internship at Southwestern Michigan Area Health Education Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Resident in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
University of Cincinnati Medical Center
Jesse A. Portugal, M.D.
Medical school was always an option for Dr. Jesse Portugal, but he didn't heed its call until six years after his college graduation. "I'm glad I waited, because I had other valuable life experiences during that time," he says.
Once there, he discovered physical medicine and rehabilitation, which became his specialty. As a physiatrist, Dr. Portugal focuses on treating pain without surgery. He relies on physical examination and electrodiagnostic studies to discover where the body's pain is originating. Then he uses occupational and physical therapy, braces, injections and assistive equipment to help relieve pain and improve patients' lives. Among the many types of conditions that benefit from a physiatrist's attention are spinal problems, strained muscles and ligaments, and pinched and entrapped nerves.
"My goal always is to help patients function as well as possible," Dr. Portugal says. "I am committed to educating patients about what's going on in their bodies. They may not like what they hear, but they have information they can use. If aggressive, conservative therapy doesn't work, sometimes surgery is the answer. Usually these patients do better after surgery because of the work we've done before the procedure."
Over the past 10 years, Dr. Portugal's practice has taken him to the American Southwest, then back to Cincinnati, where he completed his residency. He comes to Wellington with experience in New Mexico and Texas, where he was in private practice and served as medical director for a rehabilitation hospital.
Married and the father of two sons, Dr. Portugal sees patients in Mt. Auburn, Western Hills, Northgate and Hamilton.