A massage therapist’s guide to pathology 3rd Ed.
By Ruth Werner
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins © 2005
ISBN 0-7817-5489-5
Price: R638.95 Pages: 672
With formalised training and an increased scope for massage therapists in the healthcare arena, it is crucial to have a book such Ruth Werner’s in every therapist’s professional library. As she states in the introduction to the book the demographics of the average massage patient is changing as ‘every year more people perceive massage as a health care modality rather than (or in addition to) an occasional indulgence. … The result is that today massage therapists can expect to see (patients) who struggle with various simple and complex health issues.” More than ever before it is the responsibility of the therapist to make sure that he or she doesn’t do more harm than good.
So whether it is someone who seeks a therapeutic massage treatment to relax them or a patient who has been diagnosed with Aids, the therapist has to stay abreast of developments in the massage therapy profession. Only through continued professional development and access to relevant and comprehensive resources for reference will the massage therapist establish a safe and ethical practice.
Werner’s well-researched and relevant book offers exactly that - clear and concise explanations of those conditions that therapists commonly come across as well as some that we might encounter maybe once in your professional life. She describes more than 200 conditions according to the main systems of the human body giving the definition, aetiology, signs and symptoms, common treatment options and applicability of massage.
This new edition also features:
- Compare and Contrast boxes that compare two conditions that are frequently confused such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis or angina and heart attack;
- summaries of basic information for easy reference;
- case histories that add a personal narrative to the theory; full colour drawings and photographs that illustrate main ideas;
- a CD-Rom with a quiz consisting of about 300 multiple choice questions to help the therapists test their knowledge as well as animations that describe the pathophysiology of some conditions such as hypertension, the immune system and a stroke;
- an appendix on medications and the possible implications to massage therapy and an auditory pronunciation guide of glossary terms from the book (very useful to us SLESs or second language English speakers).
If you buy one book this year, I suggest that you consider this comprehensive guide to pathology. It is available in hardcover from i.a. kalahari.net at R638.95.
Erika Kruger