Richard Lau, MD

My goal as a doctor is to help my patients live the highest quality of life possible, to the best of my ability. I am an interventional pain management physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry. I help people experiencing painful conditions maximize their function and mobility and live more meaningful lives. Because of the complexities of pain conditions, I have additional training and expertise in pain medicine within the field of anesthesiology.

My practice at Rusk Rehabilitation focuses on minimally invasive and nonsurgical spine care. As part of the spine team, I am the point person for managing common conditions such as acute and chronic lower back and neck pain. I collaborate closely with our spine surgeons at NYU Langone’s Spine Center.

I help my patients better understand their pain, discuss their treatment options with them, and personalize care plans to meet their goals. My overall approach is to offer treatments with the least amount of risk and the most potential for benefit.

A care plan may include biomechanical evaluation, diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, non-opioid pain medications, and advanced, minimally invasive spine interventions. Interventions I perform include image-guided epidural injections, nerve blocks, and radiofrequency ablation. I also offer more-advanced procedures, such as minimally invasive lumbar decompression to treat symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis.

It is an honor and privilege to treat every one of my patients and a joy to see them return to the activities they love.

I also value the opportunity to teach, lecture, and present in my areas of expertise at local and national meetings and conferences and here at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. In addition, I received the 2023 Faculty Attending Teacher of the Year award from the Rusk Rehabilitation Residency Program, recognizing my commitment to educating the next generation of physiatrists to advance patient care.