Eccentric Muscle Training in Sports and Orthopaedics.

Eccentric Muscle Training in Sports and Orthopaedics

Albert M, ed. New York, NY 10036, Churchill Livingstone Inc, 1991, paperback, 157 pp, illus, $29. This book was written to provide the clinician with the principles and applications of various forms of eccentric exercise. The contributors to this book draw on their extensive experience with rehabilitation of patients with sports and orthopedic injuries, utilizing the techniques described in the book. The first two chapters offer an introduction to eccentric exercise and a review of the physiology of eccentrics. The literature review is fairly comprehensive and offers the reader enough basic information to understand muscle function in eccentric exercise. The third chapter focuses on clinical program design and the problem of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This section is perhaps the most important to clinicians who wish to scientifically apply eccentric exercise programs as part of their rehabilitation protocols. The author presents the various factors that must be considered in the use of eccentric exercise and addresses the theories regarding DOMS and the treatment for DOMS. Chapter 4 is an excellent discussion on the use of polymetric exercise in rehabilitation and does much to explain how this type of exercise may be used effectively and safely in the clinic. Chapter 5 offers the first complete discussion of the Inertial Exercise System, a new exercise device now being introduced in many sports medicine clinics. Chapter 6 discusses the use of isokinetic dynamometers with eccentric exercise and provides basic concepts in the use of mechanized eccentric exercise and some guidelines as to when to use this modality during rehabilitation. Chapter 7 is a review of free-weight training principles and techniques and includes good sections on program design and injury prevention. Each chapter is well referenced, and the reader is advised to review some of the original investigations that serve as a foundation for this text. The introduction and literature review could be better organized, but this does not detract from the information being presented. The strength of the book lies in its ability to link the concepts of eccentric exercise and neuromuscular control with appropriate clinical programs. The principles explained in the initial chapters are reinforced in the applications sections and must be read together. This text serves as a platform for any clinician to begin to comprehend and apply the various modes of eccentric exercise. I recommend this book to all therapists who want to increase their understanding of eccentric exercise or who seek to incorporate this type of exercise into their rehabilitation programs in a rational manner. Bruce Brownstein, PT New York, NY