Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction:
The Trigger Point Manual (2 vol. set)
by Janet Travell and David Simons
Janet Travell, MD and David Simons, MD were absolute pioneers when it came
to myofascial pain and it's treatment. What makes these books even more
amazing is that they were written a full quarter of a century before doctors
even acknowledged that myofascial pain actually exsisted.
Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction
Buy Trigger Point Manual at Amazon
Janet Travell MD and David Simons MD spent a lifetime studying the
patterns and treatment of muscular and soft tissue pain in patients. It is a
specialty in itself, and provides an amazingly detailed review of anatomy.
These books are the bible on the subject written by the "mother" and
"father" of the specialty. There will hardly be a day in the professional
life of a busy primary care practitioner, rheumatologist, orthopedist,
neurologist, physiatrist or physical therapist when these books will not be
used. The more one knows of this field, the more revelations one gets into
those difficult chronic pain patients. The etiology and muscular complexity
of the huge field of "tension headache" syndromes now become clear.
With these books you will have the tools to diagnose and treat effectively
(usually dramatically) the entire spectrum of myofascial pain from head to
toe, muscle by muscle. Why do so few physicians know of this vital area of
medicine?
The
chapters are laid out in an incredibly easy to understand manner,
though that's not even the beauty of the book's design. If you know the
name of the muscle in question, you simply look inside the front cover;
the muscle are all listed with their corresponding page
numbers next to them. Don't know the name or not sure which muscle it
is in the group? No problem. You again open the front cover and there,
in 5th grade simplicity, are charts for all the areas covered in the
book. Flip to the area in question and look through the diagrams.
When
you find (in the super well drawn diagrams) the pain you are trying to
treat, you are given, not only several treatment plans, but etiology
and most likely direct nerve aggravation associated with the pain.
As a Clinical Massage Therapist at a hospital, I use these books almost
daily. In fact, I just ordered my second set. . . The first is so threadbare
it's barely usable. ANYTIME I have a patient with a pain that I can't
immediately identify I grab my Travell's. This set is an absolute BIBLE for
anyone in the health care industry. Travell and Simons have essentially
written "The Instruction Manual" for eliminating myofascial pain by going to
it's source!
My only
problem with the set is that the book are not as well bound as maybe
they could be for the price. You'll notice, however, that it didn't
have enough of an impact on me to give it any less that a perfect
score.
I STRONGLY recommend this book for ANY health care practitioner that
deals with pain control and alleviation.
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