Shoulder Pain, 3d ed., Pain Series.

Shoulder Pain, ed 3: Pain Series Cailliet R. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1493, FA Davis Co, 1991, paperback, 277 pp, illus, $17.95.

It has been 10 years since Cailliet's book on shoulder pain has been updated, and this new edition brings the information from the second edition up-to-date with today's "medical" management of the patient with shoulder pain. The book discusses most, if not all, major causes of shoulder pain and provides the reader with sufficient background material so that the information presented on differential diagnosis and treatment is easily understandable. The book is written for physicians, physical therapists, and any other health care personnel who deal with patients with shoulder pain. Conservative, nonsurgical management of the patient with shoulder dysfunction is stressed, with short, but adequate, descriptions of conservative treatment techniques such as peripheral joint mobilization, therapeutic exercise, and local steroid injections. Although surgical management of various shoulder problems is mentioned, it is not within the scope of this book to describe surgical techniques in detail.

In addition to the updated concepts and treatments presented, there are numerous other changes in the book that distinguish editions 2 and 3. In the third edition, reference lists follow each chapter instead of appearing at the end of the book, and they have been enlarged and updated to allow the reader to delve further into a specific topic related to shoulder pain. Specific chapters on posture in shoulder pain, sports injuries to the shoulder, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and myofascial pain have been added. The chapters on functional anatomy, musculoskeletal pain, neurologically referred shoulder pain, and the shoulder in the patient with hemiplegia have been updated and expanded so as to be more comprehensive in scope. The book contains 191 illustrations drawn by the author that are, in most cases, very helpful in adding to the readers' understanding of the text. in a few instances, however, such as in figures 1-11, 8-5, and 8-6, the illustrations are inaccurate or mislabeled, which may be confusing to the reader unless noted. There are also a few grammatical errors and inconsistencies of terminology noted throughout the text, but for the most part the book is well written, well organized, and easy to read.

As with other books in the Pain Series by Cailliet, this book would be a useful edition for physical therapy students, physical therapists, or any other health care personnel who want or need to know more about the shoulder and the management of its associated problems. Because the content of this book tends to emphasize the evaluation and conservative management of patients with shoulder pain, this book would be a valuable clinical reference, and I would recommend it to be included in the library of those departments or practices that frequently deal with patients with shoulder pain.

Mark A Anderson, PhD, PT

University of Oklahoma 

Health, Sciences Center

Oklahoma City, Okla