About Us

About Us

Portner Orthopedic Rehabilitation is a medical clinic dedicated to providing patients with effective pain relief, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate rehabilitation.  We specialize in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of painful conditions of the arms, legs, neck, and back.  Hawaii’s leading Sports and Orthopedic Medicine specialists, Dr. Portner and his staff, invite you to learn more about their unique approach to treating pain and returning their patients back to their normal activities at work, home, and play.

Founded in 1986 by Bernard M. Portner M.D., the clinic was initially staffed only by Dr. Portner and his one secretary.  Over the years, the clinic has evolved to include over 25 diverse professionals, all striving for the common goal of providing state of the art, effective, and safe treatments for patients suffering from painful orthopedic problems.

Our Philosophy and Approach

Our philosophy is that all of our patients equally deserve our respect, compassion, and best efforts.  We believe that painful conditions of the spine and limbs always have an underlying cause, a pain generator.  It is our job, our challenge, to discover that cause (the diagnosis), to educate the patient, and make available treatment options that are both safe and effective.

Our clinic is unique in that it combines the principles of three specialties: Orthopedic Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Pain Medicine.

Orthopedic Medicine is that branch of medicine which deals with the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of conditions affecting the limbs and spine.  The principles of Orthopedic Medicine, as defined by Dr. Portner's teacher, Dr. James Cyriax, are as follows:

1. To accurately diagnose the precise anatomical tissue that is injured; that is, the       
   pain generator.
2. To then determine the optimal, non-surgical, treatment which is most likely to  effectively heal the tissue involved.
3. To ensure that the selected treatment actually arrives precisely at the tissue for which it is intended.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is the medical specialty that combines the expertise of using physical modalities, (that is, those treatments such as exercise, traction, manipulation, therapeutic heat and cold, ultrasound, electricity, braces, etc. that are neither chemical nor surgical), with the principles of Rehabilitation Medicine:

1. Identify the primary diagnosis and ensure that treatment is optimal to halt any   
   ongoing injury and to minimize the chances that any further damage is done.
2. Maximize the strength, flexibility, and function of the primarily injured body parts.
3. Identify, anticipate, and treat secondary complications, which are potentially avoidable, and maximize the strength, flexibility, and function of the uninvolved body parts.
4. Maximize overall function, given the patient's residual physical problems, using all means necessary, and provide exercise and education to avoid recurrence.

Pain Medicine is the branch of medicine dedicated to the relief of pain.  This field is especially expert in the use of various types of injections, procedures and medications to both diagnose and treat spine and limb pain.

Complimentary and Alternative Medicine

The combination of these three specialties, Orthopedic Medicine, Pain Medicine, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, offers our patients the best care that Western medicine has to offer.  But, realizing that Western medicine may not be the only effective approach in every case, we have added alternative and Oriental medicine services.  Our patients are not only served by a highly qualified MD’s, DO's, and physical therapists, but also benefit from the added advantage of treatments with massage therapy, chiropractic, and acupuncture.