Dynamic Chiropractic - April 10, 1995, Volume 13, Issue 08

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Book Reviews

By Steven Eggleston, DC

Title: Physical Energies in Therapy

Author: R.J. Lindquist, DC Category: student education

Publication: hard cover, 159 pages

Publisher: Premier Printing Corp., (213) 382-1268

When I heard there was a book on therapies by Dr. R.J. Lindquist, I was definitely interested. I thought about my therapy suite and the four Lindquist machines I use daily that have served me well for many years. I thought about the many conversations I have had with Jerry and Charlie Lindquist at conventions and at their factory in Los Angeles.

The Lindquists have been innovators in therapies over the years. They explain how to use their machines in such a loving way that it sounds like each one is their baby. They want you to use their machines because you understand exactly what your are doing to the patient based on the physiological effect you want to produce. It is great to see this information in print.

The book is divided into the following chapters: Energies of Temperature Control; Energies of Motion; Energies of Radiation; Energies of Electrophoresis; Energies of Ultrasound; and Miscellaneous Therapies. The explanations are much better and easier to understand than the books I read as a student.

I recently read the biography of Nikola Tesla, the electrical engineer who developed alternating current (A.C.) and applied his electrical inventions to medical purposes. The book by Dr. Lindquist gives the same historical perspective to the development and use of therapies that I found in the Tesla biography. For example, here are some excerpts from the section on chronaxy: "Chronaxy is a term introduced by Louis Lapicque in 1909 to define the character of a stimulus required to excite various types of human tissue without doing any damage ... from a medical viewpoint, Bourgignon has shown that all nerves and muscles in the same region that have the same chronaxies not only have the same function but are predisposed to the same pathology ..."

This type of explanation of the physical therapies teaches you how the machines affect the physiology of tissues. From this perspective, it is easier to understand which therapies could be used in various conditions. The section on ultrasound gives this advice:

  1. Congested areas may tolerate only relatively low intensities of ultrasonic energy.

  2. Chronic indolent conditions may tolerate greater treatment intensities.

  3. Irritated tissues require much lower treatment intensities than nearby healthy tissues.

  4. A deep lesion requires greater initial intensities.

  5. Use longer treatment times in treating extensive areas because not all tissues receive simultaneous treatment.
The bottom line is that I like this book very much and recommend it to students. The cost is $35. If a practicing doctor is inclined to understanding how therapies work so they can explain it to patients, this book would serve that purpose well. I made it required reading for my therapy CA. She found it very informative, easy to read, and interesting.

Eggleston Rating: 9

Judy Silvestrone, DC

Title:      Advances in Chiropractic, Volume I
Editor:     Dana Lawrence, Editor-in-Chief
Category:   Practitioner Continuing Education
Publisher:  Mosby, 1-800-325-4177
Price:      $66.95
This volume is the inaugural edition of "an annual in-depth seminar on the latest chiropractic practices and techniques." Dr. Lawrence, along with associate editors Drs. J. David Cassidy, Marion McGregor, William Meeker, and Howard Vernon, have produced an extraordinary collection of original articles on wide-ranging topics. Technique, medicolegal issues, diagnostic procedures, and case management are considered. All are submitted by respected authors with emphasis on current research.

The selections covering diagnosis are the most extensive, with articles examining imaging decisions (Taylor and Resnick); clinical EMG (Meyer); headache (Nelson); applicability of orthopedic testing (Souza); on-site evaluation of athletic injuries (Toth); and ligamentous failure in the lower cervical spine (Foreman and Stahl). All are thorough, progressive, and readable. The article on diagnosis of headache has an asset of clear diagnostic algorithms. The article on orthopedic evaluation provokes essential questions regarding the gold standard to which most orthopedic tests have never been applied.

In the area of technique, manipulation under anesthesia (Beckett and Francis), advances in Gonstead technique (Plaugher), and studies on the relationship between manipulation and passive end-range in the cervical spine (Nansel and Szlazak) are reviewed. Current research efforts are cited throughout, without losing sight of the applicability of this information to clinical practice and patient care. Many analytic criteria are reviewed in Plaugher's article along with the results from current research efforts to validate these criteria.

Medicolegal issues encompass informed consent (Chapman-Smith and Paterson), future chiropractic guidelines (Hansen), and neurovascular risk assessment (Ferezy). Chapman-Smith cites many specific cases relevant to the discussion of disclosure, consent, and material risk. Ferezy recounts mechanisms and therapeutic decisions relative to vertebrobasilar insufficiency.

Specific case management concerns include spinal stenosis (Mierau and Kirkaldy-Willis), exercises for low back pain (Burns), chiropractic rehabilitation (Liebenson), and therapeutic ultrasound (Feinberg). All the articles examine mechanisms, natural history, recent "changes in our thinking," and conservative management approaches.

In summary, this is an extensive overview of developments which should impact chiropractic practice. The desire to distribute current research results is well balanced without sacrificing readability. All graphics, x-rays, and tables are well organized and applicable.

For those who keep abreast of current literature there is much repetition. Many of the studies cited (such as those by Nansel and Szlazak, Plaugher, etc.) have been previously released in research journals such as JMPT. Other topics (VBAI, imaging protocol, vertebral subluxation complex, etc.) have been discussed in detail in other texts. However, the variety of topics, depth of material and quality of this compilation is invaluable. As an annual edition, it is my opinion that it will become very highly anticipated and regarded in the field.

Silvestrone Rating: 10