Customer Reviews

Spinal Manipulation Made Simple: A Manual of Soft Tissue Techniques

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is easy, reader friendly and accessible for somatic practitioners to understand clearly what one is feeling both at the boney and tissue levels. Jeff has given us his years of practicing this in distilling the information of spinal biomechanics into linguistically and technically clear steps for easing joint fixations and facet restrictions anywhere along the spine via soft tissue techniques and a whole body approach. Excellent drawings and photographs accompany the text for even further clarity. The anatomy is all there plus easy ways to understand what to do even when you don't understand why. The book is a tour of every facet of the spine from sacrum to occiput in the possible things one might feel and wonder what the heck to do about it rather than vague mashing around. Included is the constant reference to working with the whole body/person. Anyone "working" on bodies would benefit from having this manual and keeping it close at hand.

Working as a physical therapist and acupuncturist with some education in manual therapy/osteopathy,a couple of years working with dry-needling and bodywork on triggerpoints, I find this little book extremely useful in daily practice.
Shifting from high-velocity techniques to these soft-tissue/assisted release- techniques ,gives very good predictable results with greatly reduced risk of tissue-damage on our patients.
Thorough explanations of spinal mechanics, testing and release-tecniques for joint fixations in the totalcolumna gives any bodyworker/therapist the possibility to release painful facet restrictions after a very short study/workperiod.This little seemingly modest text should give value for several expensive workshops and courses.
Releasing the overlying triggerpoints in paravertebral muscles simultaneously giving the fixed joint an impetus towards normal position is elegant, efficient and largely as painfree as any release of triggerpoints. Thank you very much Jeffrey Maitland!

Most people are familiar with the spinal manipulations of Chiropractors and Osteopaths but most are unfamiliar with somatic techniques and how they differ. Instead of quick movements to "adjust" the back, it involves slower techniques designed to help the body to realign the vertebrae correctly using its own natural actions and reactions. Jeffrey Maitland has thoroughly researched the area of spinal manipulation and with the help of Chiropractors, Osteopaths, and Rolfers has put together this text on techniques that can be understood by anyone. The book is designed for those who want a better understanding of their back, how different problems originate, and how to resolve those problems. This does not mean that you will never need to see an Osteopath or Chiropractor, but you may be able to resolve many basic problems yourself. Of course you can't work on your own back and so the techniques better enable you to help others. These are simple, slow, safe, body aware techniques and that makes this a highly recommended book for anyone who wants to understand the back, how it works, and how to live with theirs or those who want to add additional techniques to their knowledge base.

One of the most useful books I have read on body work. I have no formal training in body work, but there is nothing in the book trashing Chiropractic as the reviewer below suggests. Maitland presents a gentler method of manipulating the spine using the soft tissues that hold joints in place (or out of place). The first few chapters cover the basic techinique then the later chapters delve into techniques dealing with underlying issues, pelvis, sacrum and ribs. These simple, well-taught soft tissue techniques have not been used by the two Chiropractors I have tried for my current back pain (ignoring spinal muscle issues), which is why I bought the book. After Xrays and 30+ chiro sessions I was looking for a new approach to try since my chiros "adjust" my rotated vertebrae but they move back to the painful position shortly afterward. I wanted out of the viscious circle, so I helped myself by reading the book (had to learn a few words that body workers learn in school). I especially appreciated Maitland's writing style of restating some of the more detailed instructions with laymen's terms. After reading the book I could explain to my massage therapist how to release joint fixations by using the techniques on me without her even reading the book... it's that easy. She called me in joyful tears later that day because she was able to apply the techniques to one of her 15yr old cerebral palsy clients that very evening and help his spine relax into a more natural curve... said it was like pressing a button. She now has a secret weapon that may help her clients get out of back pain when she finds spinal fixations.

This book is more for those who already have a working knowledge of the field of spinal manipulation. I was very disappointed within minutes of opening the cover. I thought "Made Simple" meant just that!

I read this book carefully and then read it again. I continue to refer to it often when treating patients. It is a very clearly written text. The concepts are rooted in osteopathic medicine, which make for solid, time-tested techniques. The major difference lies in the force of technique. Dr. Maitland's approach is to challenge joint fixations and then apply just enough force to encourage what he calls an 'orthotropic' effect in the surrounding tissue. The expected result is a released joint that is then able to articulate anatomically, as designed. If you have the 1st edition, however, you need to be aware that there are numerous editorial errors. This is a significant problem and should be a concern to anyone intending to apply the techniques. Most of the errors are right versus left, anterior versus posterior, superior versus inferior and lateral versus medial. If you have a solid foundation in functional anatomy, kinesiology, and biomechanics, you will be better equipped to find the errors and make edits. If you are a novice without much background in this, you will most likely have much more difficulty. Either way, please be aware that the errors exist. I confirmed the errors with the author, who informed me that there is a 2nd edition in which all errors were corrected. He also told me that the 2nd edition differs from the 1st in that the cover is a matte-finish as opposed to the glossy cover of the 1st edition. To reiterate, the book is excellent, the concepts and techniques are excellent, but if you can find it, the 2nd edition will cause many less headaches.

Jeffrey Maitland shares his spinal manipulation techniques via manipulation of soft tissues as opposed to chiropractor's direct thrust adjustment. Jeff with his philosophy background is ingenious in writing, reader is able to follow complicated routines as story. Jeff unveils various secrets of cervical, thoracis & lumbar manipulation, from indirect unwinding to more direct facet challenging techniques. His storytelling truly made readers to be able to follow the techniques as simple as possible.

In response to thor's review: I found the techniques described being no more dangerous than giving a back massage.

I found this thoughtfully written book to pose no danger in applying the techniques, which are not at all forceful. No popping and such, rather, this book describes techniques that address the soft tissue that holds the spine out of alignment.

After a few months of regularly applying these simple and safe techniques, I helped my wife become free of the ever present back pain she had for years. For me, untrained in physiology, it took careful study to understand what the author is saying, and then continued careful application and rereading to learn how to recognize and feel the subtle visual and tactile cues he describes, but the effort paid off for me, and it has worked wonderfully for my wife. I'd give it five stars if it came with a glossary and more diagrams (which, without, required my doing some researching on the internet and in the dictionary so I could understand his technical language).

Once I understood the techniques, it was indeed very simple. It just took me some very worthwhile effort to get to that point.

To call this a spinal manipulation textbook is misleading, as it is really about soft tissue mobilization techniques. The author Jeffrey Maitland sounds like a world-famous author Geoffrey Maitland, so don't be confused. Overall, for soft tissue techniques, it is an accurate and helpful product.

This book was okay for what it was supposed to cover..unfortunately, the author's tone is so self congratulating that I found it difficult to take seriously. The author takes great pains to differentiate himself from other manual therapists (osteopaths, chiropractors, physical therapists etc.) and then later on states he always looks for the similarities in techniques. Also, he states that a number of techniques were created by himself and maybe he actually believes this but if you consult old osteopath manuals and many manual therapy texts from other disciplines, you see the same and/or very similar techniques. The author would also do well to see that many other disciplines including osteopaths, chiropractors and physical therapists utilize soft tissue techniques. So, in conclusion, the text was marginal, there are many other better and more clearly texts written that are not encumbered by the author's defensive mechanisms.