The latest edition of Warren Hammer’s text provides a comprehensive and integrative approach to assessing and treating soft tissue disorders. It was written as a practical reference for health professionals involved in using manual methods of diagnosis and treatment.

The author’s narrative style and obvious enthusiasm for his subject is effective at keeping the reader engaged. The contribution of 24 authors representing physiotherapy, massage therapy, physical therapy, osteopathy, chiropractic and medicine enhances the credibility of this compendious text.

The book contains 24 chapters, including 13 new chapters, divided into 3 sections: Introduction to Soft Tissue Examination; Extremities and Lumbar Spine; and Manual Treatment Methods. The first section includes a chapter on the effects of mechanical loading on soft connective tissues, which effectively incorporates apposite neurobiology and physics into our understanding of these disorders at a cellular level. The second section clearly outlines neuromusculoskeletal conditions by region, highlighting etiology, signs and symptoms, functional tests, differential diagnoses and treatment, as well as functional anatomy and pertinent biomechanics.

Throughout, this text is effectually illustrated with well referenced photographs, drawings and diagrams, including easy-to-use regional functional diagnosis charts in the appendix. In the third section the diverse selection of contributors chosen based on areas of expertise renders this text excellent in providing the relevant preliminary information regarding various manual treatment methods.

Overall, this is a well organized, well referenced text effectively reviewing functional anatomy and biomechanics while providing a pragmatic approach to assessing and treating neuromusculoskeletal conditions using up-to-date soft tissue techniques.

Despite a minor concern with editing that doesn’t seem to affect readability, I highly recommend this thorough, well written text for both the student and clinical practitioner of any health care profession that utilizes manual treatment techniques.

Suzanne Bober

Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association

The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association (JCCA) publishes research papers, commentaries and editorials relevant to the practice of chiropractic.

The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association (JCCA) is a journal dedicated to the practice of chiropractic, publishing research papers, commentaries, and editorials relevant to the field.

《Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association》是一本专注于脊椎按摩疗法实践的期刊，发表与脊椎按摩相关的研究论文、评论和社论。

Functional Soft Tissue Assessment and Treatment

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