Book reviews 445

Functional Movement Re-education

Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh
1997 (ISBN 0 443 08913 2). Illus. 488 pages

by Susan Ryerson MAPT and Kathryn Levit BS OTR £65

The high quality of the content and presentation of this book
should place it high on the essential reading list for students and
qualified physiotherapists alike.
The aim of the book is to provide therapists with a
comprehensive model of normal movement and movement
dysfunction and guidance on the successful use of handling skills
and problem solving ability for the treatment of adult
neurological patients.The information is directed towards
treatment of stroke and other types of neurological damage that
result in hemiplegia or unilateral loss of movement control.
The authors have both trained with Bertha Bobath and have Foot and ankle inversion (left) and eversion (right) to
used her concepts of treatment to develop their own individual illustrate lower extremity movements in standing
approach for neurological treatment based on clinical practice.
This consists of a system for analysing normal movement patterns appropriate references and additional reading guidance and
in the trunk, arm, and leg that are important for function, a there is a comprehensive index.
detailed understanding of impairments that interfere with There are excellant complementary illustrations and
movement and limit function and strategies for relating photographs throughout which clarify the text and as a result the
treatment techniques for the re-education of movement and chapters dealing with movement analysis and practical handling
restoration of function to impairments. are some of the best I have read.
The quality of information provided is made accessible by the The authors anticipate that this book will stimulate debate and
use of a clear prose style and logical sequencing and sectioning further research. It is a challenging and rewarding read.
of the material. Important textual information is listed,
tabulated or highlighted which is very helpful.. Each chapter has Susan J Horne MCSP

A Patient’s Guide to Hip and Knee

Replacement

Erskine Press, The Old Bakery, Banham, Norwich NR16 2HW

1998, 2nd edn. 36 pages

by Hugh Phillips FRCS £2.95

The review of the first edition of this tiny booklet, published in
this journal in July 1990, called it ‘essential reading for all
patients who are waiting for joint replacement surgery’. It is
printed on high quality paper, with coloured diagrams, and an
attractive layout which makes the booklet easy to read and for the
two types of patient -- hip and knee-- to sort out which sections
apply to them.
The text starts with basics: ‘Where are the hip and knee?’ Apart
from the usual medical and anatomical information which is
presented in an easily digestible form, there are ‘hospital diaries’
(the patients’ version of care pathways?) which outline what to
expect from the day of admission to discharge.
All the advice on patients’ reactions and recovery emphasises
that experiences vary from person to person, and about the only
sentence to which one could object is the breezy comment: ‘The
timing of the first bowel movement is not important.’ To a largely How a patient can expect to spend the first few days after a
immobile patient lying in an open ward -- oh yes it is! knee replacement operation

Physiotherapy August 1999/vol 85/no 8