Sign in

Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez

@mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social
5.1K followers 590 following 494 posts

Professor & Chair of Rehab Med in SATX | Mom, runner, #LatinasInMedicine, #Physiatry, #LongCOVID

PostsRepliesMedia
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 10h
On #NationalLatinoPhysicianDay, we celebrate & keep opening doors. Our communities need more physicians. Our future doctors need mentorship, support, & opportunity. Our patients deserve accessible care without fear. To the next generation: you belong here. We need you.
020
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’m officially “I don’t recognize the song of the year winner at the VMAs” years old. 🤷‍♀️👵🏽
021
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
KOL = Key Opinion Leader = I will use my voice to be loud about what patients need in the toxin space! 📣
070
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Our team at UT Health San Antonio is currently recruiting for the REVERSE-LC trial for brain fog and fatigue in #LongCovid with baricitinib (Jak pathway inhibitor).
11313
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
1/ I had one of those moments in clinic today that completely stopped me in my tracks. One of my follow-up patients came in with a new caregiver. The caregiver looked at me and said: “Do you remember me?” I didn’t.
1164
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
COVID PSA: We now have PEP. Ensitrelvir (Xocova) can be taken after a known COVID exposure to reduce the risk of developing COVID. Preventing the infection in the first place also means preventing its potential downstream consequences, including Long COVID. #LongCOVID #COVID19
18517220
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
The Americans with Disabilities Act reminds us that disability rights are human rights. Thirty-six years later, we’ve made progress, but true inclusion requires continued investment in accessibility, healthcare, research, and universal design. #ADA36
071
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Every day I have the privilege of caring for people rebuilding their lives after stroke, brain injury, Long COVID, & other neuro conditions. Brains are capable of extraordinary recovery, but only when we continue to invest in research, rehabilitation, and hope. #WorldBrainDay
070
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
5 things worth the money (from a rehab doctor): ⛑️ A helmet that fits correctly. 💉 Vaccines. 🏃‍♀️ Physical therapy when you actually need it. ❤️ Time with friends. 😴 A good night’s sleep.
0132
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Is spasticity really just “spasticity”? Our latest paper in @AJPMRjournal reviews how the definition has evolved and proposes “spasticity syndrome” as a more comprehensive framework. www.ovid.com/jnls/ajpmr/f...
ovid.com
021
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The World Cup referees aren’t the only ones handing out red cards… As a brain injury and neurorehabilitation physician, here are a few myths I’d happily send off the field.
031
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Repping the USA today! World Cup fan, but make it professional. How did I do? 🇺🇸⚽️👢
Monica standing and wearing a USA soccer jersey, blue dress skirt and red boots.
4101
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
The Spurs lost the Finals last night. But as a brain physician, I see something else. The youngest starting five in conference finals history (average age 22 years, 346 days) just made a run in the NBA Finals. At 22, the brain is still under construction. 1/
120
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I couldn’t sleep after that #NBAfinals game. Felt like I was going to die of Takotsubo syndrome 💔😭
020
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
We had our UT Health San Antonio PM&R residency graduation last night. So proud of these 8 graduates. They are prepared & will help so many people! Of course, since they trained in San Antonio, they will be part of our rehab familia por vida! #Graduation #PMR #PorVida
062
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The UT Health San Antonio PM&R team has one prescription for tonight: 🏀 Spurs basketball. To our PM&R colleagues in New York - consider this a friendly challenge from South Texas. May the best team win! #GoSpursGo #PMR #NBAFinals #PorVida
031
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Looking to sharpen your approach to spasticity management? Join us June 18 (6–7 PM CT) for Spasticity in Focus: Expert Conversations in PM&R: Spasticity Assessment and Treatment Optimization Open to all. Register: onlinelearning.aapmr.org/URL/01OC_06260… #Spasticity #PMR @AAPMR
onlinelearning.aapmr.org
LMS
032
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
As Stroke Awareness Month comes to a close, I keep coming back to this photo. That’s my grandfather… a WWII veteran, proud Spurs fan, and one of the toughest people I’ve ever known. After a stroke, he spent his later years in a nursing home, but he never lost that Spurs spirit.
20127171
Reposted by Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez
Miles W. Griffis @mileswgriffis.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Breaking: The FDA appears to have approved the antiviral ensitrelvir (Xocova), which can be used as PEP after being exposed to someone with COVID-19 💊🦠 www.fda.gov/drugs/novel-...
fda.gov
Novel Drug Approvals for 2026
Novel Drug Approvals for 2026
312153
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
New JAMA Network Open study: 📊 Long COVID prevalence estimated at ~16% 🏥 58 U.S. hospitals 🤖 AI-based EHR phenotyping ⚠️ Diagnosis codes alone missed many cases The burden of #LongCOVID is likely much larger than administrative data suggest. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Long COVID Persistence and Surveillance Gaps Across 58 US Hospitals
This cohort study quantifies the gap between true postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 burden and diagnostic code–based estimates, determines the proportion representing chronic disease, and characterizes...
0186
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Stroke Awareness Month reminder: many stroke survivors develop spasticity. AAPM&R has launched a FREE interactive patient & caregiver resource covering: • What spasticity is • How it affects daily life • Treatment options • Finding expert care • Long-term management Please share widely.
1106
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
I recently had a patient with cervical dystonia tell me: “You truly changed my life just by giving me a diagnosis… and then treating me.” Because so many patients with cervical dystonia spend YEARS being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told it’s “just stress,” posture, arthritis, or anxiety. 1/
1102
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
In case you think I’m living the perfect life as mother and physician, I give you my google search today…
Google search result of “how to make boiled eggs”
471
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
She cried because she could wear her mom’s ring again. After her stroke, severe spasticity kept her hand tightly clenched. Botulinum toxin treatment helped relax the muscles enough for her to open her hand again.
271
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
A year of growth, bold thinking, and incredible leaders at ELAM. Came in with a vision. Leaving with a bigger one. Let’s build what our patients deserve.
071
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Honored to join Texas Public Radio’s Petrie Dish to talk about new national #TBI guidelines. 👉 You don’t have to hit your head to injure your brain. 👉 More than half of TBIs go unrecognized. Time to connect the dots and catch these earlier. 🧠 Listen here: www.tpr.org/podcast/petr...
tpr.org
Petrie Dish: New national guidelines target often-missed TBI cases
You don’t have to be a football player or a bull rider to have a traumatic brain injury. You don’t even have to hit your head. More than half go undetected. New national guidelines aim to help primary...
093
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
TBI doc watching this hit on Wemby… This is how concussions happen: high force + unexpected contact + no time for protective bracing. Even if he “looks okay,” symptoms can evolve. The right move was remove, evaluate, don’t rush back. Brain > playoffs.
262
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Thanks @UNC_PMR for having me as your distinguished lecturer this year! I have no pics of me lecturing, but did get the running pic on campus. 🏃🏽‍♀️👩🏽‍⚕️
020
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
What I’d NEVER do as a brain injury rehab doctor: • Motorcycle • Tackle football (for my kids) • Ignore BP • Skip helmets • Normalize repeat COVID infections Because I take care of what happens next.
1432848692
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Honored that our AAPM&R spasticity guidance paper is a top 10 most-cited article in the PMR Journal. Spasticity is still underrecognized and undertreated. This work was about giving clinicians practical tools to do better for our patients. 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... #Spasticity
072
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
2008. I was a resident with a newborn at home & a dad battling cancer. I was tired in ways I didn’t have words for. But even then I realized: What a privilege it is to be trusted. To be invited into someone’s hardest days. To be thanked for simply showing up. #NationalDoctorsDay
1406
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
March 25 💚 #CerebralPalsyAwarenessDay CP doesn’t end at childhood. Lifelong condition → lifelong need for care & support. Honored to stand with my patients.
092
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
RIP Chuck Norris.
If you trained at the VA, you know: Walker, Texas Ranger was always on.
A quiet, nostalgic part of residency I’ll never forget.
031
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
If you were/are in the healthcare field and are living with Long Covid, please fill out this survey (to help out a grad student): twu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
01414
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
As a physician, Long COVID taught me humility.
As a patient, it showed me how harmful dismissal can be.
 To those living with Long COVID: you are my inspiration to listen better, believe sooner, and advocate harder. #LongCovidAwarenessDay #LongCovid #Physiatry
15822
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
She had no idea she’d grow up to fight so hard for people with brain injuries. Now I care for patients, study spasticity, help develop clinical guidelines, and advocate for equitable access to rehabilitation care. Proud to be a physiatrist this 🧠 #BrainInjuryAwarenessMonth
0112
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
On #InternationalWomensDay:
Sex‑ and gender‑based disparities persist across rehabilitation domains from stroke to Long COVID. Grateful to contribute to scholarship calling for equity‑focused research, care models, and policy in PM&R.
#IWD2026 #PMR link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007...
link.springer.com
Disparities of Healthcare for Women in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the United States
0146
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Here’s to women showing up, taking space, and changing the world. Who runs the world? GIRLS. 💜🌍 #InternationalWomensDay
120
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
This #BrainInjuryAwarenessMonth, let’s include people with #LongCOVID. Cognitive dysfunction, headaches, and fatigue are real, and research and treatments are needed.
1124
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
It’s not a coincidence to me that #BrainInjuryAwarenessMonth and #LongCOVID awareness happen together. The cognitive symptoms my patients describe overlap in real, meaningful ways… and deserve the same validation, research, and treatments. 🧠
05120
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Honored to keynote LMSA Southwest Regional Conference. First-gen. No roadmap. No representation. I shared how my grandfather’s stroke - and his lack of rehab care - shaped my fight for health equity. Merit isn’t a strategy. You can’t be what you can’t see. The future of medicine is bright.
030
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New paper out: “Disparities in Spasticity Access and Care” in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. Link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1mdZ%7E3kH... We outline structural barriers, referral gaps, and workforce challenges, and why rehab must lead in closing them.
000
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Now Live - Spasticity Without the Plateau: Science, Access, and the Path Forward 🎙️ 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🎙️ youtu.be/8T_wEm5ekVU?...
youtu.be
Spasticity Without the Plateau: Science, Access, and the Path Forward
YouTube video by Saebo, Inc.
011
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I worry I scarred my kids by dragging them to the hospital for work urgencies. Nicolas said it wasn’t often. Lina said she loved it. Staff was kind, she got to read her book, & they told her how smart she was. “It was the best for an 8-year-old girl.” Didn’t scar them with this at least 😜
161
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
My warmup for a great time at #Physiatry26
020
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Me to my son: “Do you use the Oxford comma?” Son: “I am not a barbarian, of course I do.” Husband (barbarian) rolls eyes.
1153
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
New free resource for physicians! Post-stroke spasticity is frequently missed but early identification makes all the difference. AAPM&R’s new microlearning series helps physicians who don’t treat spasticity learn more on the topic! Start learning today: ow.ly/K0fz50Y9lmc
ow.ly
Understanding Post-Stroke Spasticity: Education for Advancing Provider Awareness
075
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
If you recognized Ricky Martin at the halftime show, it’s time for your mammogram
0203
Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez @mvgutierrezmd.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
The real MVPs
040
Reposted by Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez
Patient-Led Research Collaborative @patientled.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
PLRC member Dr. Copeland has launched a research study on rest, energy, & #MECFS — open to people with ME/CFS & healthcare providers who are currently practicing or conducting research & have had at least 1 patient or participant with ME/CFS. More info: restandmecfs.com
This is a flyer for the Rest & ME/CFS research study, IRB number 26-6. It says "participate in a survey about rest, energy, and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". In the upper right corner it says “Questions? Email Study Co-PI Victoria: empwrtc@protonmail.com”. Below the header is interwoven circles, one is black with text that says Fully Virtual, low- energy version included. The circle behind is an image of white silk wrinkled. Next to it text says “To participate you must be: Over the age of 18 AND EITHER Have ME/CFS worked with at research (self or professionally diagnosed) or be A medical/healthcare provider who has least one person with ME/CFS, currently practicing or conducting research”. Below this it says learn more at www.restandmecfs.com There are two icons on the bottom left corner. One says ETC and above it are six icon-stick figure people holding hands in a circle. Next to it is Cal Poly Pomona's logo, a diamond with an orangey yellow background and palm trees and a building inside.
The Cal Poly Pomona Institutional Review Board has reviewed and approved for conduct this research involving human subjects under protocol IRB 26-6.
03323