Palpation Skills for Muscles and Joints.

Palpation Skills for Muscles and Joints

Chaitow L. Philadelphia, PA 19106-3399, Churchill Livingstone Inc, 1999, VHS, 48 min, $95.

Leon Chaitow, ND, DO, has produced 2 videotapes on manual palpation skills that demonstrate and teach the foundations and specific applications of soft tissue palpation. The value of palpation is presented in the assessment of skin, muscle, fascia, and joints. The tapes are designed for medical practitioners, physical therapists, and students of manual therapy; they are not designed for patients or people outside the health professions.

Fundamental Palpation Skills covers the following subjects: first steps in palpation skill development, thermal palpation, palpation of skin status and skin pulses, muscle and fascia status, osseous and energy palpation, and palpation of tissue trauma "memory." Palpation Skills for Muscles and Joints covers palpation for shortness in major postural muscles; functional palpation, especially joint play and end-feels; and respiratory function palpation.

The presentation format of both videos includes visual text and narratives followed by patient demonstrations. A narrator recites the written introductions to each technique, then Dr Chaitow is seen as he describes and demonstrates the techniques on various models. The text, however, scrolls down the screen at an awkward angle, which makes reading difficult. Disturbing background music plays throughout the videos, but it does not overpower the narration. Dr Chaitow's instructions and demonstrations are clear and easy to follow. The overall production quality is excellent, with good lighting and sound. Each tape concludes with advertisements for other Chaitow products. The length of each video is appropriate for the information, and the presentation is neither rushed nor long and repetitive. The videos present a sufficient amount of information. Each video is accompanied by a small, descriptive manual. The manuals do not follow the videos, nor do they review the information on the videos; each offers further information and skill exercises that a therapist may try, which involve similar topics as those seen on the videos.

Both videos are particularly relevant to the practicing manual therapist. Perhaps Fundamental Palpation Skills, which presents many activities designed to develop palpation skills, offers more useful information. Tactile discrimination, thermal palpation, and skin palpation activities are very useful in developing a clinician's palpation abilities. Palpation Skills for Muscles and Joints also provides a number of palpation activity skills, but spends the majority of time demonstrating the assessment of postural muscles, such as assessing passive range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion. This video may be helpful to the physical therapist student, but it would serve only as a review for the experienced manual therapist.

Both professional and advanced physical therapy education curricula would be enhanced if these videos were available to students. Practicing manual therapists may find Fundamental Palpation Skills very rewarding and a resource that would help improve their soft tissue assessment abilities. The practicing manual therapist may be interested in Palpation Skills for Muscles and Joints only for review purposes.

Nicholas F Quarrier, PT, OCS Ithaca College Ithaca, NY

Mr Quarrier is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and a licensed massage therapist. He teaches required manual therapy courses as well as elective courses in palpation skills.