Arthritis and Exercise: A User's Guide to Fitness and Independence.

Arthritis and Exercise: A User's Guide to Fitness and Independence This book was written for patients with arthritis and other individuals who are inactive, who would like to cautiously improve their flexibility and strength. The text is well written for this particular audience and achieves the author's purpose. The book-would be useful to physical therapists because it can be used as patient education material. The book has been appropriately reviewed by a team of health professionals at the Arthritis Society in Vancouver, Canada, for accuracy and quality of the material.

Incorporating advice from a physical therapist, the author describes for the patient the disease process of rheumatoid arthritis. The remainder of the book is dedicated to explaining stretching, strengthening, and relaxation exercises for each of the major joints of the body. The text is nicely illustrated for the reader. A section at the end of the book addresses leisure and travel considerations. Because Ellert is a registered nurse who also happens to have rheumatoid arthritis, she is well acquainted with what is required for coping with this chronic illness. Physical therapists who have little experience with management of rheumatoid arthritis would find this a nice reference book to have in the library.