book review Therapy Through Movement: Integrating the physical and psychological self, edited by Lorraine A Burr. Nottingham Rehab Ltd, 17 L u d l o w H i l l Road, West B r i d g f o r d , Nottingham NG2 6HD, 1986. €14.90, This very readable book sets out t o draw together the various strands of therapy through movement and to explore the concepts engendered by the consideration of mind and body working as a whole, through different types of movement. The emphasis throughout is on the exploration, explanation and application of these concepts through dance, drama, music and psychomotor therapy. Chapter 1 provdes a clear and concise background to a history of therapy through movement, which can be clearlv understood by students of movement therapy and other interested professionals It explains the normal growth and development of children in some detail, forming a sound basis for the following sections. These expand or1 the various specific modalities of treatment. The philosophy and practice of these treatments is explored and explained very clearly and examples of t r e a t m e n t plans and applications are well displayed. Although written by five different authors, the content of each section IS similar enoilgh in presentation to give a comprehensive and coherent overview of movement therapy. The linking of concepts such as Bobath, Benesh and Laban into the framework of the various therapies helps to clarify the physiological and psychological framework of the programmes. The text is complemented by full bibliographies and other useful and relevant information on the background and practice of each therapy. CHRISTINE EASTON MCSP
Common Foot Disorders, edited by Donald Neale OBE and lsobel M Adams. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh (3rd edni, 1989 (ISBN 0 4 4 3 0 3 9 9 9 21 Illus. 3 9 9 pages. €22.50. Foot management and associated foot problems require a variety of skills and it IS important that all professionals involved should keep abreast of current thinking, so I read Common Foot Disorders with interest. The text (3rd edition) brings together the work of 26 authors, the majority of w h o m are chiropodists. This comprehensive study presents 24 papers which are illustrated with over 100 black and white photographs, almost 200 line drawings and about 190 recommendations for further reading. The editors state the original objective for compiling this book was a dearth of literature for chiropodists and they envisaged it would be of value to students and practitioners alike. The chapter on physical therapy reinforces the value of this publication for the student, defining the objectives when heaticold, electrical stimulation, passive stretching or exercise are used as a modality. This book could be described as a
Physiotherapy, December 1991, vol 77, no 72
clinically orientated guide to the diagnosis and management of foot disorders and carers from the 'cradle to the grave' and wouid most probably be of value to the generalist rather than the professional i n v o l v e d in p r o b l e m s of g a i t a n d management of the problcm foot. However, t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n incorporates current concepts on the diagnosis and conservative management of foot conditions while relating to the general medicine and surgical conditions which have a direct bearing. This edition shows major revisions over the previous work (1981 + 19851 in the chapter on examination and assessment. The growing foot, clinical therapeutics. physical therapy and local analgesia. Additional chapters have been added on principles of infection control, principles of surgical practice, and digital surgery. This easiiy held book is clearly written and provides sound theoretical information combined with practical advice The latter is important as so often many of the skills and techniques that are required in m a n a g e m e n t of f o o t disorders are overlooked in print. This edition has stressed the importance of the need for good examination assessment and observation (for example, chapters on the growing foot, the adult foot and examination and assessment). It was perhaps disappointing in this comprehensive study to find little information relating to choice of footwear other than the sports shoe althougli modifications are discussed in some detail. The s p o r t s i n j u r y c h a p t e r had a comprehensive text and was well illustrated. Chartered physiotherapists involved in the design and manufacture of foot appliances will find ?he chapter on appliance therapy of interest. This book contains so m u c h good information it is difficult to single out an individual chapter. I found the line drawings in 'nail disorders' clear and easily understood as indeed was the section on 'the growing foot' and 'the adult foot'. The only real criticism would be in regard to t h e recommended readings -- 37'/0 before 1980 and only 12% post-1986. w i t h the majority of the more recent referenced
Site o f injection for the saphenous nerve. One of the illustrations from 'Common Foot Disorders'
having been included iii the new chapters in this edition. This book wiil be useful as a reference work in the library, OLWEN E FINLAY MCSP
The Encyclopedia of Alternative Health Care - The complete guide to choices in healing, by Kristin Olseri. Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd, London, 1991 (ISBN 0 7499 1036 4, paperback 0 7499 1071 2 ) . 3 3 0 pages. f 1 5 hardback. The increasing popularity of alternative therapies has created a whole new holistic care industry. Some therapies are well established but others are quite new and complex and little material is available to explain t h e m Kristin Olsen gives clear and balanced profiles of over 3 0 major healing arts and explairis how they can be used to maintain good health and well-being. Each is described in a way that lets the reader understand exactly what is involved - h o w the therapy works, its history and development, what happens at a session, and the applications and cautions. Most importantly, this is not a selftreatment manual; no single therapy is ernphasised at the expense of the others, the author states very clearly in her preface that her aim is to provide a tool for evaluation only. In this she is quite successful although the therapies selected may be more familiar to American readers. In an interesting preface Dr F Shallenberger gives a useful guide t o t h e assessment of a new form of therapy:
1. Is the therapy safe? 2. Does it have theoretical plausibility? 3. Is i t relatively inexpensive? 4. Has it been around for inore than a few years? 5. Has it been effective? 6. Is there any other therapy that meets these criteria better? As he points out, these criteria can usefullv be applied to a great deal of modern Western medicine w i t h rather more in the way of negative answers than we might expect. It is srartiing t o reflect that few doctors prescribe drugs that have been in use for more than twenty years! Conventional medicine does well at symptom alleviation and emergency trauma care but is not so good at problem-solving and disease prevention. The summaries themselves are all well written and generally informative. Some, like Shamanism, Tragerwork, Reiki and the so-called myotherapy are more commonly found in the USA.Some are rather familiar. No physiotherapist will be able to read the sections on relaxatioii techniques and massage without a smile and there are large areas of biofeedback; c h i r o p r a c t i c , osteopathy and m an ip uIat ive therapies (all under one heading), and naturopathic medicine which fall squarely into current physiotherapy practice. There are good sections on homoeopathy,
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