BOOK REVIEW
Clinical Assessment for Massage Therapists
David Zulak . Paperback and e-book . Handspring Publishing . ISBN 978-1-909141- 37-7 . 584 pages . Available at : www . handspringpublishing . com / product / chronic-pain-management
Reviewed by Stephen Clarke .
Clinical assessment is the important information gathering process that underpins treatment with clear outcome goals . Assessment is not an intervention ; it is however a critical skill . Its aim is to arrive at understandings . It is incumbent on massage therapists to develop both their assessment skills and their treatment skills . Assessment seeks to understand , not change . It entails asking pertinent questions – the right questions - and interpreting the responses to them . Asking a client to move a joint or hold against resistance are examples of such questions . Whatever the responses - normal function , limited function , function with effort and so forth – the therapist will not understand their patient ’ s condition without asking the right questions first .
This book is a teaching manual designed to provide the basics of the assessment skills required by professional massage therapists . It provides the information to learn a variety of assessment skills to better understand the condition of the various types of soft tissue and joints that may be related to a patient ’ s symptoms . The author maintains that good assessment provides the therapist with a global picture of their client that can ’ t be achieved by overly quick interventions with the intention of changing function . Although this book does provide guidance toward choices for appropriate intervention , an intervention should only take place once assessment identifies the conditions for a specific , unique treatment and what outcomes for treatment are desired . There are many types of clinical assessment procedures . For the massage therapist , the ones used need to be effectively integrated into the massage session process .
The author subscribes to an impairment model as more pragmatically appropriate for massage therapy than a diagnostic model . This principle is consistently reinforced throughout the book , which makes for clarity . This is a very comprehensive text : it sets up basic principles from the outset and proceeds through the regions of the body , providing in depth assessment details , including history , observation , palpation , active and passive range of motion and special tests . Another strength is that it presents all assessments for each section in clearly set out text boxes . The case for this book might have been further strengthened by reference to contemporary pain science , but as the author maintains , assessment , not research , is the focus . It should prove valuable for teachers , students and practising therapists alike .
Chronic Pain . A resource for Effective Manual Therapy
Philip Austin . Handspring Publishing . Paperback and e-book . ISBN 978-1-909141- 51-3.266 pages .
Available at : www . handspringpublishing . com / product / chronic-pain-management
Reviewed by Stephen Clarke .
Chronic pain is pain that lasts beyond normal healing time after injury or illness — generally 3 to 6 months . It is a common and complex condition , and the pain experienced can be anything from mild to severe . Chronic pain is defined as pain that is ongoing and experienced on most days of the week .
Chronic pain can result from injury , surgery , musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis , or other medical conditions such as cancer , endometriosis or migraines . In some cases , there may be no apparent physical cause . It is more complex than acute pain , and may result from damage to body tissue from an acute or chronic condition , or changes in the nerves or nervous system that result in the nerves continuing to signal pain after the original condition has healed .
Chronic pain can affect a person ’ s use of health care and ability to work , exercise and socialise . People with chronic pain are more likely than those without chronic pain to experience mental health conditions , including depression , anxiety , sleep disturbance and fatigue . Chronic pain affects one in five Australians aged 45 and over . Its sufferers are almost three times more likely to be prescribed medication than patients without chronic pain .
A widespread approach to chronic pain treatment is the use of potentially lethal opiate-based analgesics . In some countries this has reached an epidemic level . Manual therapies provide either a relatively safe and
166 | vol27 | no3 | JATMS