Amazon.com Review
Dr. Andrew Feldman has been where you may be: he's had enough athletic injuries to sideline any team of recreational athletes--torn ligaments, a separated shoulder, broken fingers, a dozen
-itises--he even broke his nose twice (once while lifting weights, he's not too embarrassed to admit). That's just a small fraction of what he's seen while wearing the white coat, but it still helped lead him to this somewhat reassuring hypothesis: 90 percent of all sports injuries are the same. That is, the pattern of damage and the recovery rate are entirely predictable. You think it's unique because it has happened to you, but in reality it's something an experienced sports-medicine doctor has seen lots of times.
So Feldman's book takes you through each sports-injury zone--shoulders, back, knees and elbows, ankles and wrists, hands and feet--and presents a systematic way to get through all the possible problems until you figure out which one applies to you. He explains the treatments you might receive if the injury is sufficiently serious to warrant medical attention, and what's involved in the rehab process, including stretches and strengthening exercises.
Feldman also makes sure you're entertained along the way, sharing personal experiences and cracking jokes. You'll laugh through the tears caused by whatever injury brought you to this book in the first place. --Lou Schuler
Weekend athlete and orthopedic surgeon Feldman presents simple sports injury diagnostic information and advice in user-friendly fashion. Arranged by body part (hand, wrist, ankle, shoulder, spine, etc.), the manual offers initial overviews of each before discussing function, common injuries, and prescribed treatments (rest, ice, orthotics, etc.) for alleviating common problems. A simple "Bio-Point Exam" (consisting of a few key questions about amount of pain, swelling, deformity, etc.) for the specific body part injured helps users determine whether the injury warrants a physician's care. Simple line drawings accompany the text, which concludes with stretching exercises. Not overly technical yet offering enough basic physiological information and sports medicine advice, this is a good quick reference for athletes.
Sue-Ellen Beauregard
