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Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD

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Specializes in: Sports Medicine and Physiatry (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation)

Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine (2005)

Professional interests include: musculoskeletal ultrasound, hip problems, sports health, and more.

1030 N Clark Street 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60610

(312) 238-1000

Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD is a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL specializing in sports medicine and physiatry (physical medicine & rehabilitation). She graduated from Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine in 2005 and has 21 years of experience. Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD is affiliated with Northwestern Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) and MEDICAL SERVICES RIC.

Office Locations

Northwestern Medicine

1030 N Clark Street 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60610

(312) 238-1000

(312) 238-7709

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355 E. Erie Street Shirley Ryan Abilitylab 15th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611

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Some issues Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD can help you with:

Joint Injections

A joint is any area of the body where two bones connect. Due to injury or disease, the space between the two bones can sometimes become swollen and inflamed, which leads to pain and a loss of mobility. Injection and aspiration are two tools that physicians use to treat joint pain locally without needing to perform surgery.

Both injection and aspiration are techniques that involve inserting a needle connected to a syringe directly into the joint. Aspiration involves the removal of excess fluid, and injection is the placement of medication directly into the joint space via the needle. Both procedures may be performed at the same time. In both cases a local anesthetic may be used, the skin will be cleaned and disinfected, and then the needle will be inserted. In some cases, especially if the injection or aspiration is in a large and deep joint such as the hip or spine, ultrasound may be used to guide the needle to the exact location desired.

In some cases, irritation to the joint can cause fluid to build up so significantly that the joint hurts and can no longer move well. Aspiration removes some of the excess fluid and relieves the pressure. In addition, aspiration can be used to provide a sample of joint fluid if it needs to be examined microscopically for the presence of white blood cells, bacteria, or crystal formations.

Certain injuries and diseases that affect joints are inflammatory in nature, such as rheumatoid arthritis, tendonitis or gout. These diseases may be helped by the local injection of anti-inflammatory medications directly into the affected joint. In this case, corticosteroids such as methylprednisone are usually used. Relief from the pain may be felt right away and may last for weeks or even months.

In some cases, such as with osteoarthritis, the cartilage buffer between the two bones wears down and pain comes from bones rubbing against each other. In this case, injection of a lubricating agent such as hyaluronic acid may be beneficial. It provides a slippery cushion between the bones to relieve pain that can last for months.

In The News (see more mentions in the news)

“"We already are seeing new patients" hobbled by overly enthusiastic recent workouts, says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago (formerly...”—"Starting to Exercise Again After Lockdown (Published 2020)", New York Times, June 2020

“Growing up, Dr. Monica Rho says she remembers waiting for her mom's nursing shift to end at a suburban Chicago hospital where she worked.”—"U.S. Women's Soccer Team doctor talks support from her immigrant parents", NBC News, March 2020

"Medical Education Day Celebrates Teaching and Scholarship Feinberg faculty, staff and students participated in lectures, workshops and presentations during the 5th Annual Medical Education Day.", Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2012 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2012 were hospital care, inpatient care, injections and aspiration.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	62
doctor visit	323
hospital care	269
injections	92
inpatient care	269
nerve block	30
pain management	30
spinal procedures	30

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2013 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2013 were injections, hospital care, inpatient care and aspiration.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	80
doctor visit	255
hospital care	97
injections	108
inpatient care	97
nerve block	28
pain management	28
spinal procedures	28

2013 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	76
Female	156

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	177
Black	34
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	92
From 75 to 84	80
85 and over	27
Less than 65	33

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2013

Hypertension	63
High Cholesterol	49
Stroke	16
Ischemic Heart Disease	29
Depression	33
Chronic Kidney Disease	21
Asthma	9
Osteoperosis	13
Atrial Fibrilation	16
Heart Failure	15
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	13
Diabetes	22
Dementia	12
Cancer	12

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2014 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2014 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	96
doctor visit	206
hospital care	14
injections	119
inpatient care	14
nerve block	23
pain management	23
spinal procedures	23

2014 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	46
Female	127

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	136
Black	24
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	78
From 75 to 84	52
85 and over	19
Less than 65	24

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2014

Hypertension	56
High Cholesterol	45
Stroke	9
Ischemic Heart Disease	27
Depression	22
Chronic Kidney Disease	19
Asthma	10
Osteoperosis	14
Atrial Fibrilation	12
Heart Failure	12
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	9
Diabetes	19
Dementia	0
Cancer	14

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2015 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2015 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	62
doctor visit	213
injections	90
nerve block	28
pain management	28
spinal procedures	28

2015 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	68
Female	214

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	234
Black	0
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	128
From 75 to 84	90
85 and over	26
Less than 65	38

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2015

Hypertension	54
High Cholesterol	42
Stroke	0
Ischemic Heart Disease	26
Depression	24
Chronic Kidney Disease	16
Asthma	14
Osteoperosis	11
Atrial Fibrilation	8
Heart Failure	10
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	9
Diabetes	19
Dementia	0
Cancer	11

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2016 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2016 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	45
doctor visit	263
injections	68
nerve block	23
pain management	23
spinal procedures	23

2016 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	48
Female	119

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	135
Black	15
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	75
From 75 to 84	57
85 and over	14
Less than 65	21

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2016

Hypertension	54
High Cholesterol	45
Stroke	0
Ischemic Heart Disease	27
Depression	21
Chronic Kidney Disease	16
Asthma	14
Osteoperosis	11
Atrial Fibrilation	0
Heart Failure	11
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	8
Diabetes	15
Dementia	0
Cancer	14

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2017 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2017 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	65
doctor visit	342
injections	85
nerve block	20
pain management	20
spinal procedures	20

2017 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	52
Female	128

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	154
Black	13
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	84
From 75 to 84	65
85 and over	17
Less than 65	14

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2017

Hypertension	58
High Cholesterol	32
Stroke	6
Ischemic Heart Disease	28
Depression	21
Chronic Kidney Disease	13
Asthma	9
Osteoperosis	16
Atrial Fibrilation	10
Heart Failure	11
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	7
Diabetes	17
Dementia	0
Cancer	11

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2018 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2018 were aspiration and injections.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	43
doctor visit	231
injections	43

2018 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	42
Female	112

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	127
Black	0
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	67
From 75 to 84	54
85 and over	13
Less than 65	20

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2018

Hypertension	47
High Cholesterol	45
Stroke	7
Ischemic Heart Disease	27
Depression	28
Chronic Kidney Disease	13
Asthma	9
Osteoperosis	14
Atrial Fibrilation	7
Heart Failure	14
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	10
Diabetes	15
Dementia	0
Cancer	14

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2019 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2019 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	72
doctor visit	270
injections	95
nerve block	23
pain management	23
spinal procedures	23

2019 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	62
Female	128

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	155
Black	12
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	89
From 75 to 84	74
85 and over	16
Less than 65	11

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2019

Hypertension	50
High Cholesterol	53
Stroke	0
Ischemic Heart Disease	25
Depression	24
Chronic Kidney Disease	16
Asthma	6
Osteoperosis	16
Atrial Fibrilation	6
Heart Failure	12
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	7
Diabetes	13
Dementia	9
Cancer	12

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2020 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2020 were aspiration and injections.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	33
doctor visit	185
injections	33

2020 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	43
Female	98

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	106
Black	14
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	0
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	59
From 75 to 84	56
85 and over	0
Less than 65	0

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2020

Hypertension	47
High Cholesterol	44
Stroke	0
Ischemic Heart Disease	24
Depression	23
Chronic Kidney Disease	16
Asthma	9
Osteoperosis	15
Atrial Fibrilation	11
Heart Failure	10
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	9
Diabetes	11
Dementia	0
Cancer	13

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2021 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2021 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	105
doctor visit	348
injections	119
nerve block	14
pain management	14
spinal procedures	14

2021 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	63
Female	158

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	174
Black	14
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	20
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	94
From 75 to 84	98
85 and over	17
Less than 65	12

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2021

Hypertension	51
High Cholesterol	52
Stroke	0
Ischemic Heart Disease	26
Depression	22
Chronic Kidney Disease	15
Asthma	6
Osteoperosis	16
Atrial Fibrilation	8
Heart Failure	9
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	0
Diabetes	12
Dementia	0
Cancer	19

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

2022 Medicare Procedure Volume

The top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL during 2022 were injections, aspiration, nerve block and pain management.

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

aspiration	84
doctor visit	305
injections	101
nerve block	17
pain management	17
spinal procedures	17

2022 Medicare Patient Data

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	60
Female	143

**Ethnicity**
Non-Hispanic White	160
Black	15
Hispanic	0
Asian	0
Other	17
Native American	0

**Age**
From 65 to 74	90
From 75 to 84	87
85 and over	12
Less than 65	14

Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD in 2022

Hypertension	61
High Cholesterol	70
Stroke	7
Ischemic Heart Disease	23
Depression	21
Chronic Kidney Disease	9
Asthma	14
Osteoperosis	27
Atrial Fibrilation	8
Heart Failure	7
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	9
Diabetes	15
Dementia	0
Cancer	19

Medicare Procedure and Patient Information

Average Medicare Procedure Volume From 2012 - 2022

Volume of procedures performed by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD for Medicare patients.

The highest averages for the top procedures that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated as a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, IL were hospital care, inpatient care, injections and aspiration.

aspiration	67
doctor visit	267
hospital care	126
injections	86
inpatient care	126
nerve block	22
pain management	22
spinal procedures	22

Average Medicare Patient Data From 2012 - 2022

Information about Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD.

**Gender**
Male	50
Female	125

**Ethnicity**
Black / African American	12
Asian / Pacific Islander	0
Non-Hispanic White	141
Native American / Alaskan Native	0
Hispanic	0
Other	3

**Age**
75 to 84	64
85 and over	14
Less than 65	17
65 to 74	77

Average of Total of Conditions of Medicare patients treated by Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD From 2012 - 2022

The highest averages of the most common conditions of Medicare patients that Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD treated were hypertension, high cholesterol, ischemic heart disease and depression.

Hypertension	49
High Cholesterol	43
Stroke	4
Ischemic Heart Disease	23
Depression	21
Chronic Kidney Disease	14
Asthma	9
Osteoporosis	13
Heart Failure	10
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	7
Diabetes	14
Atrial Fibrillation	7
Dementia	1
Cancer	12

Education & Training

Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD graduated from Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine in 2005. She completed residency at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. She is certified by the Sports Medicine, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has a state license in Illinois.

Medical School: Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine (2005)

Residency: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (2009)

Board Certification: Sports Medicine, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Licensed In: Illinois

Affiliations & Hospitals

Dr. Monica E. Rho, MD is associated with these hospitals and organizations:

Northwestern Medicine

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS)

MEDICAL SERVICES RIC

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Biography

Dr. Monica Rho's medical specialty is physiatry (physical medicine & rehabilitation) and sports medicine. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. Her residency was performed at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Areas of particular interest for Dr. Rho include knee problems, joint injections, and sports health. Dr. Rho's distinctions include: PASSOR Legacy Award and Lectureship, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Leadership Education Advancement Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and Crain's Chicago 40 Under 40, Crain's Chicago Business. She is professionally affiliated with Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.