Relax Your Neck Liberate Your Shoulders: The Ultimate Exercise Program for Tension Relief.

Franklin E. Hightstown, NJ 08520-0831, Elysian Editions, Princeton Book Co, 2002, paperback, 125 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-87127-248-2, $19.95.

The purpose of this book is to provide information about how to become flexible and how to relax using imagery. . The intended audience is anyone who is looking for simple, nonmedical descriptions of movement and suggestions for imagery techniques to relax and relieve tension throughout the cervical and shoulder regions of the body. The author defines tension as a libeling of tightness or hardness or a knot ted or cramped area, which is accompanied by pain with multiple causes, including "narrow thinking," limited movement, poor posture, discontentment, stress, exhaustion, or other physical, mental, or biomechanical contributors. The book does not attempt to serve as a resource for physical therapists or other medical professionals, but it offers an alternative approach that uses activities described by the author.

The book is divided into an introduction and 9 chapters. Within each chapter are short descriptions of potential problems related to tension, brief descriptions of the anatomy of the area, and techniques that the author says can be used to relieve the tension in the area. Black-and-white drawings and some photographs help explain both anatomic structure and the use of techniques.

The introduction of the book describes ideokinesis, which is the basic philosophy of the book. The author defines ideokinesis as the use of imagery to develop body awareness. According to the author, developing this awareness by performing imagery exercises can result in tim ability to alter the organs, joints, or nervous system. The visualization that is a part of this imagery is incorporated throughout the book, forming the basis for tim majority of the activities. The book also contains many recommended movements that involve active exercise, active stretching, tapping of muscles with the hands, stroking, and numerous other physical elements.

Chapters 1 and 2 include a brief explanation of tension, the results of tension, and how to relieve tension through relaxation. In this book, tension is largely related to a misinterpretation of movement and involves the feeling of tightness, pain, and hardness. The author believes that tension occurs in response to a given situation or attempted movement when an appropriate motor reaction involving some action is planned and the planned action does not occur. The muscle, ready to react, remains tight and tension results. The book suggests that the method of relieving the tension should include an image of softness. Other techniques for relaxation that are described include shoulder shrugs, mental visualization of positioning, tapping of the muscles or bones, massaging, and arm shaking.

The author also describes a method to provide energy to organs, specifically the kidneys. Energy is described as the feeling a person can get when imagining an energy current passing from one hand to another. The pressure, warmth, or suction between the hands may feel magnetic or like a ball of energy. According to the author, it is this feeling that, through the visualization of a stream of energy from the hands, can be moved to different areas of the body to provide nourishment, relaxation, and the relief of tension. If tension does persist the author recommends talking to the tension as if it were a friend, a process that he believes may help uncover the root of the problem.

Chapters 3 and 4 apply the author's philosophy to the joints and the muscles. The shoulders are emphasized in Chapter 3, "Refresh Your Joints." Exercises include active scapular move ments along with visualization of scapular position and of gliding of the humeral head during shoulder flexion. Actions of the scapular and shoulder muscles are described in chapter 4, "Muscle Harmony." Although the author does not define muscle harmony specifically, this term appears to refer to the ability' to contract and relax a muscle without a feeling of tightness, cramping, or pain. To accomplish this, the author introduces the concept of "currents." These currents can be thought of as lines of movement, which indicate a thrust or "current," in the muscle. In the trapezius muscle, for example, the current is described as flowing upward from the distal attachment to the spine of the scapula, whereas a downward current flows from the occiput to the spine of the scapula. Visualization of the "current," according to Franklin, can help with relaxation. In addition to this concept, the author describes active elongation activities that he believes can be used to facilitate muscle movement.

Chapter 5 is titled "Organ Relaxation" and provides descriptions of visualization of the hearts and lungs at rest and during movements. The author argues that the lungs and heart are related to posture of the upper body and, therefore, to the neck and shoulders. Visualizing these areas as a type of ball and socket joint (the heart representing the ball and the lungs representing the socket) and increasing the movement through stretching or imagery, according to the author; can help to improve posture and relieve tension. Chapter 6 has additional exercises that readers can perform with a partner that, again, locus on relaxation. Additional applications for relaxation and tension relief while working at a desk job are described in chapter 7, and chapter 8 contains material related to the neck.

The focus throughout this book is on visualization and the use of visualization, along with a variety of other techniques to help an individual to relieve tension or to relax. It superficially covers anatomy and does not include any resources or references to support the effectiveness of the activities described. The book is not written for physical therapists and is one author's approach to achieve flexibility and reduce pain in the neck and shoulder area. Although the concept of visual imagery may be of" interest to physical therapists, the information in this particular book will not be of value in providing any scientific rationale for the incorporation of visual imagery into patient management. Instead, this book should raise questions about the evidence or lack oF evidence for techniques that the author presents as an "ultimate exercise program for tension relief."

Nancy Talbott, PT

University of Cincinnati 

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Ms Talbott is Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Program. Her teaching and research interests include kinesiology and biomechanics.