The International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) is the result of the merger and integration of the International Rehabilitation Medicine Association (IRMA) and the International Federation of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (IFPMR). The merger was accomplished and ISPRM formed on 13 November, 1999.

The International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) serves as the global agency for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM). As a non-governmental organization (NGO) in relation with the World Health Organization (WHO), as an international umbrella organization of PRM physicians, and as a catalyst for international PRM research, ISPRM has a humanitarian or civil societal, a professional, and a scientific mandate.

ISPRM thus aims to “continuously improve PRM practice and facilitate PRM input in international health organizations with the goal to contribute to optimal functioning and quality of life of people experiencing disability”.

Since its foundation in 1999 ISPRM has been increasingly successful in achieving its mission, both within PRM and through its collaboration with WHO. With its emergence as the pre-eminent international scientific and educational society for practitioners in the field of PRM and its evolving policy role in collaboration with the WHO and the United Nations (UN).