Handbook of Chronic Pain Management.

Handbook of Chronic Pain Management This book is must reading for physical therapy practitioners involved in chronic pain management. The text is not outstanding; its overview of physical therapy from a physiatrist's point of view and overview of manipulation from a chiropractor's point of view are only fair. The book does, however, cover a wide range of recent research and clinical applications in the area of chronic pain management and offers probably the broadest treatment of chronic pain management published to date.

There are 51 chapters in this book. Some chapters are excellent, such as those on myofascial pain and connective tissue pain. The psychology of chronic pain management is addressed in great detail.

Because the physical therapist is a mainstay in the treatment of the patient with chronic pain, one would expect the book to have one or more chapters on the therapeutic modulation of pain written from a therapist's point of view, but this is not the case. Certain techniques, such as the McKenzie technique, can be extremely helpful in chronic pain management but are not addressed in the book.

On the whole, from a medical and psychological perspective, the book is well-done and could be essential for physical therapy practitioners who deal directly with patients who have chronic pain.

Tollison CD. Baltimore, MD 21202, Williams & Wilkins, 1989, hardback, 714 pp, illus, $87.95