Book reviews 107

Proud Child, Safer Child A handbook for parents and carers of disabled chi Id ren

The Women’s Press, 34 Great Sutton Street, London ECIV ODX 1998 (ISBN 0 7043 4561 7). 206 pages ............................................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................................

Merry Cross f7.99 Merry Cross, who is herself disabled, writes both as a parent and as a disability trainer and consultant of more than 16 years’ experience. Since 1989 she has specialised in the protection of disabled children from abuse and is an experienced writer on this subject.

The content of the book may not, to many, be obvious from the title. The focus is one of an exploration of how abuse can occur in the lives of disabled children, because of the level of intimate care many of them need, the contact they have with numerous people for a variety of reasons, and the environments in which they are raised and educated.

The book also examines the outward, yet subtle, signs and symptoms that one may observe which could indicate that abuse has occurred or is occurring.

Although the author states that this book is for parents and carers I feel that many if not all professionals, such as therapists, dealing with young disabled children would also find it useful.

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Diagnosis and Treatment of the Lower Extrem it ies Non-operative orthopaedic medicine and manual therapy

Aspen Publishers, 200 Orchard Ridge Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878, USA 1997 (ISBN 0 8342 0902 0). Illus. 670 pages ............................................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................................

by Dos Winkel with Omer Matthijs and Valerie Phelps $83 The aim of this book is to improve the effectiveness of practitioners in the diagnosis of disorders affecting the lower extremities and to provide appropriate treatment techniques. It gives an account of the fundamental approach to diagnosis, using the Cyriax method of examination and use of selective tension.

This book is divided into three main sections: the hip, the knee and the ankle and foot. Each section comprises detailed chapters on functional anatomy, surface anatomy, examination, pathology, treatment, and peripheral compression neuro- pathies.

The end of each section is followed by a useful question-and-

The text is easy to follow even though the subject can be distressing.

The book has a logical format - broken down into three sections: ‘The children in our care’, ‘Our children in the hands of professionals and institutions’, and ‘Recognising and dealing with abuse’. These sections cover such aspects as self-image, communication, intimate care, sexuality, professionals, medical intervention, schooling, signs and indicators of abuse, and what to do if you suspect abuse.

At the end there is a very useful resource and reference section.

Despite being a small paperback, this book is packed with very powerful material that should actively heighten and possibly change the perception and understanding of non-disabled carers (in whatever context) of the potential danger of abuse to the children with whom they work.

It is a valuable resource for all professionals and would promote excellent discussion about practice and be useful background material for in-service training and workshops.

If recommended to parents, I feel they would need to be offered an opportunity to talk through many of the issues raised with others - be they friends, family or a professional qualified in this particular field.

I would highly recommend this text as an easy-to-read, affordable book for any department or hospital library.

Julia Graham BSc MCSP

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answer review, plus references and suggested reading. The text is amply supported by line drawings and photographs illustrating anatomy, surface anatomy and treatments. I particularly liked the sections on surface anatomy, which are very detailed and would be useful to physiotherapy students as well as qualified practitioners.

The book covers areas of diagnoses which can often be complex to a practising clinician, such as the differential diagnosis of pain in the region of the greater trochanter, compartment syndromes, achillodynia and bursitis.

The treatment sections for each area tend to keep to the use of frictions, manipulation, exercise and injection therapy. However, there is very little reference to other modalities of treatment, such as muscle imbalance, or adverse neural tension.

This book is written in the ‘medical model’, but would be very useful for those wishing to further their knowledge base on lower-limb dysfunctions in order to help evolve their clinical reasoning skills.

In summary, this is a thorough, detailed logical reference book for the diagnosis and treatment of mechanical lower limb disorders. It would be useful for senior physiotherapy students and clinicians in the field of manipulative medicine and sports therapy, and also for those learning injection techniques.

Maggie Whittaker MCSP MMACP

Phydotherapy February 1999/vol &%/no 2