Osteoporosis Sourcebook.

Osteoporosis Sourcebook Cook AR, ed. Detroit, MI 48226, Omnigraphics Inc, 2001, hardcover, 598 pp, ISBN: 0-7808-0239-X, $78.

On the same day that I received the Osteoporosis Sourcebook to review, I also received a women's health newsletter with the feature article on osteoporosis updates, a fitness magazine with workouts geared toward women with osteoporosis, and an advertisement for a new, all-natural vitamin/mineral supplement to prevent osteoporosis. Clearly, this is a hot topic, and hot topics often come with myths and misconceptions. The editor of this sourcebook wanted to provide the laypeople with information that will allow them to identify the risk factors for osteoporosis and the lifestyle changes needed to offset them. The book is part of a Health Reference Series that provides basic information about medical concerns, such as cancer, family planning, skin disorders, and oral health, to name but a few.

The 68 chapters of the book are arranged in 7 major parts. Part 1 is the introduction and overview, including the National Institutes of Health's statement on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Part 2, on the nature of osteoporosis, presents background information on bone remodeling and calcium. Facts and figures are presented in part 3. Related conditions, such as Paget disease, hyper-parathyroidism, and inflammatory bowel disease, are covered in part 4. Part 5 provides information on risk factors and prevention. Part 6 guides readers through diagnostic procedures, treatments, and ways to cope with the pain associated with osteoporosis. A directory of resources for further help, including agencies and Web sites, is in part 7.

The book is a compilation of articles published in other magazines and fact sheets issued by nonprofit and government agencies. As a result, reading the sourcebook from front to back is quite repetitive. The text is better used as a reference to look up an area of particular interest. Some chapters are adequately referenced, whereas others are not referenced at all. This would be a book to be kept in a staff or patient library. The targeted audience is the layperson, but the therapist who needs a quick bit of information on a particular topic will also find the book useful. The therapist who is looking for evidence-based data might find the text lacking, but could still use it as a starting place to pursue other sources of information.

Maggie Fillmore, PT, MA, OCS
Kaiser Permanente
Oakland, Calif

Ms Fillmore is a clinical specialist at Kaiser Permanente, providing outpatient orthopedic and pediatric intervention. She is also on the clinical faculty of the Kaiser Residency Program in Advanced Orthopedic Manual Therapy.