Advances in Clinical Rehabilitation, vol. 1.

Advances in Clinical Rehabilitation, vol 1

Edited by Eisenberg MG, Grzesiak RC. New York, NY 10012, Springer Publishing Co Inc, 1987 This is the first volume in a proposed new series. The editors state that the series is designed to provide practical and current information about rehabilitation interventions, from a multidisciplinary perspective. Like its predecessor, Annual Review of Rehabilitation, this series will emphasize dissemination of information on developments in theory, practice, and technology. In addition, the series will concentrate on innovations in the practice of rehabilitation. This first volume includes the sections Advances in Clinical Assessment, Advances in Rehabilitation Technology, Selected Topics in Rehabilitation, and Advances in Rehabilitation Research.

The first section contains three chapters. The chapter on functional independence measure presents information on the development, trial, and implementation stages of this assessment system. Reliability and validity statements are included; however, it appears this assessment system has undergone trials but is yet to be implemented. The chapter on assessment of chronic low back pain contains descriptions of a clinical assessment protocol that includes the interview, pain and behavior characteristics, and health care utilization history. Adjunctive assessment procedures, such as self-monitoring and questionnaires, are described. This chapter serves as a guiding framework for the assessment of low back pain. The final chapter, on neuropsychological assessment in brain injury rehabilitation, is an overview of the recent literature on this topic.

Section 2 contains information on the advances in rehabilitation technology, such as the impact of computer technology in pediatric rehabilitation. Communication systems are described, along with points to consider when investing in such a system. Petrofsky has written a chapter on the role of functional electrical stimulation in the rehabilitation of the patient with spinal cord injury. The physiological effects and benefits of active physical therapy produced by such stimulation are presented. A section on computer-controlled walking and its current status also is included. Advances in the use of EMG biofeedback in the treatment of chronic cervical and low back pain are explored in the final chapter. The results of studies by the authors are related to literature on this topic.

Burn rehabilitation and cancer rehabilitation are the selected topics presented in the third section. Like previous chapters, these chapters provide overviews of current views and practices, covering multiple aspects of the problems. Problems in rehabilitation research are listed in the final section. The purpose of this section is not to tell the reader how to conduct research, but rather to alert the practitioner to certain pitfalls, obstacles, and problems encountered in the search for funding. It also is designed to direct the potential researcher to available databases that should be assessed in the preparation of a proposal.

This text is a readable one. As might be suspected given the nature of the presentation, the illustrations are quite sparse. The book would be a useful addition for those therapists interested in multidimensional information on advances in clinical rehabilitation. The text would be most useful for individuals designing research for these areas. The material is not particularly practical from a clinical perspective and is not appropriate for most classroom applications.