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Jennifer Hankenson, MD

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation
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Additional Titles

Associate Vice Chair Clinical Affairs for Physiatry, Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

Physician Champion Medication Utilization Project, Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

Program Director, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Yale New Haven Medical Center

About

Titles

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

Associate Vice Chair Clinical Affairs for Physiatry, Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation; Physician Champion Medication Utilization Project, Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

Positions outside Yale

Program Director, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Yale New Haven Medical Center

Biography

Dr. Hankenson, a physiatrist, is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine and Program Director of the Physiatry residency. She is board certified in Physiatry and Lifestyle Medicine. She specializes in neurorehabilitation in both adults and children. She works in a collaborative approach with other medical professionals, providing a patient and their family a multidisciplinary team dedicated to improving function and overall well-being.

Dr. Hankenson's areas of expertise include the following:

  • Adult and pediatric tone evaluation and management
  • Botoxulinum toxin or chemodenervation as a treatment for spasticity, dystonia and thoracic outlet syndrome
  • Cryoneurolysis for pain and spasticity
  • Post stroke or traumatic brain injury
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Neurologic rehabilitation
  • Prosthetics and Orthotics
  • Lifestyle Medicine interventions

Dr. Hankenson first discovered the specialty of physiatry or physical medicine and rehabilitation during her medical school training at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL. Her interest in caring for patients with medical conditions requiring complex rehabilitation management grew during her residency at Medstar/Georgetown University in Washington, DC. There she gained exposure to both adult and pediatric rehabilitation in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. She has a strong interest in movement and gait analysis and looks to restore functional movement through non-operative management. She also works closely with her orthopedic colleagues to help with rehabilitation needs pre- and post-surgery.

Dr. Hankenson treats patients at the Milford, Wallingford, and New Haven clinic sites. When she isn’t in the clinic, she’ll be playing tennis, spending time with her family, and spending time outdoors.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Resident
Georgetown/Medstar National Rehab Hospital (2020)
MD
University of South Florida

Research

Overview

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Stiff-Person Syndrome

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Yale Inpatient Advisory Board

  • activity

    American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

  • activity

    Association of Academic Physiatrists

  • activity

    American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine

  • activity

    American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Clinical Care

Overview

Jennifer Hankenson, MD, hardly knew what a physiatrist—a doctor with specialty focused on physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R)—was until her husband was hit by a car while she was in medical school.

“He was badly hurt and had to learn to do many of the things he could easily do before the accident, in addition to managing his pain and going back to work,” Dr. Hankenson says. “One doctor put him on a lot of different medications that made him drowsy and not his usual self. Then, we received a recommendation to see a physician who was trained in PM&R. My husband was then able to come off all of his pain medications and get his quality of life back.”

Dr. Hankenson, who had been leaning toward a career in general or plastic surgery, decided to specialize in PM&R herself. She treats general musculoskeletal conditions and offers neurorehabilitation for adults and children—both in the hospital and in her outpatient clinic.

“I find it so rewarding to be able to follow my pediatric patients and continue treating them as they transition into adult care and offering that level of consistency, which is important,” Dr. Hankensen says.

Dr. Hankensen’s clinical interests include ultrasound guided procedures and regenerative medicine. She works in a collaborative approach with other medical professionals, providing a patient and their family a multidisciplinary team dedicated to improving function and overall well-being.

Dr. Hankenson has a strong interest in gait analysis and looks to restore functional gait through non-operative management. She also works closely with her orthopedic colleagues to help with rehabilitation needs pre- and post-surgery. She enjoys helping patients regain strength and function after strokes, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, and concussions.

“A physiatrist like myself steps in when someone has a limitation in their normal function such as after an injury, pediatric neurologic condition, stroke or spinal cord injury. I help patients recover and rebuild their lives,” she explains. “What is most important to me is getting them to the highest functional level possible.”

Dr. Hankenson says she focuses on remaining realistic and hopeful with patients. “If a patient loses all hope, that is a huge roadblock to recovery. I think it’s important to explain that a major injury means it will take time, but the body has an amazing ability to heal itself,” she says. “I like to focus on small gains and achievable goals.”

Her areas of expertise include adult and pediatric tone evaluation and management (spasticity) including Botox or chemodenervation, dystonia, and chronic migraine. She also treats general musculoskeletal conditions including non-operative management of arm, hip, shoulder, neck, low back, knee, ankle, or foot pain.

Clinical Specialties

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Lifestyle Medicine

    Certification Organization
    AB of Lifestyle Medicine
    Original Certification Date
    2023

Yale Medicine News

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Appointment Number
Mailing Address

Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

P.O. Box 208071

New Haven, CT 06520-8071

United States

Administrative Support

Locations

  • Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

    Academic Office

    47 College Street

    New Haven, CT 06510

  • Patient Care Locations

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