Sports Injury Handbook: Professional Advice for Amateur Athletes [Paperback]

Allan M. Levy (Author), Mark L. Fuerst (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Levy, team doctor for the New York Giants football team, and writer Fuerst collaborate in this handbook for serious amateur athletes. One section deals with major body parts (e.g., "The Shoulder"), common injuries, and prevention or rehabilitation. Though anatomical drawings would have clarified this section, symbols indicate which injuries require a doctor's care and which respond to first aid. Other sections describe common injuries in 19 sports and cover basic workouts, nutrition, first aid, basic sports physiology, and problems that are unique to women, children, and senior athletes. Complex concepts are explained clearly and related to the athlete's training. The exercises are well illustrated, and anecdotes from pro sports (e.g., Bo Jackson's hip injury) let readers identify with the pros, if only through injuries. Nontechnical language sets this practical book apart from others in the field. Recommended for both academic and public libraries.
- Kathy Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, B.C.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

With over 30 years experience in treating professional athletes suffering from every kind of sports injury, Dr. Levy (team physician for the New York Giants) explains how to condition, improve performance and strengthen the body to avoid injury; how to diagnose impairment that needs medical attention along with proven techniques for treating on-the-spot injuries in order to minimize problems and costly trips to the doctor. Offers excellent advice on nutrition, diet and eating and addresses the special problems and concerns of females, children and older athletes. Organized by types of injury and referenced to individual sports, it also contains numerous stories and anecdotes from professional athletes.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471547379
• ISBN-13: 978-0471547372
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCEPTIONAL MATERIAL ON FITNESS & SPORTS INJURIES, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sports Injury Handbook: Professional Advice for Amateur Athletes (Paperback)

Alan Levy has done a fantastic job in putting together so much in one book. It has nearly everything an athlete requires to not only stay in shape but also treating all kinds of injuries from little niggles to those that need surgery. And its all been bonded together in a very organized and methodical manner.

To begin with Dr. Levy emphasizes the importance of warming up and stretching before and after workouts and shows how to do this. Next, he explains about nutrition for athletes. After that he lays out the benefits of and what it really means to stay healthy. This is followed by First-Aid for sports.

Starting with the fifth chapter he provides detailed information about what to know about the various parts of the body, their intricacies, and how they are used in sports and precisely what occurs with them when we feel pain or discomfort. For example, chapter 10 is about the Thigh and Hip, Chapter 6 for the Shoulder, and so on. In addition, he suggests various ways of diagnosing injuries correctly and how best to treat them. Whether an economical ready-made arch support will work, or one must see a qualified physician for a particular problem, Dr. Levy seems one not to miss a trick.

Then there is a chapter each on a specific sport and the most likely injuries to take place in every one of those and what all can be done to prevent them but if they do happen, then how to treat them. From Baseball to Running, Golf to Skiing, it has everything.

At the end he also suggests what to look for in a Sports Specialist.

Its only drawback is that understanding some of the material can be a daunting task as the lay person does not possess the expertise of Dr. Levy in Sports medicine.

And last but not the least, my knee ailment got cured courtesy of following the treatment plan outlined in the Sports Injury Handbook.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I needed . . ., October 4, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: Sports Injury Handbook: Professional Advice for Amateur Athletes (Paperback)

An excellent book. At the age of 40 I pay for my active lifestyle with some aches and pains; this book is helping me live pain free. Unlike many PT type books, Levy is specific with his advice, not making you waste your time on dozens of stretches and exercises. He'll lead you directly to what you need to know to fix the problem. Other books seem shy about recommending specific exercises for specific problems; Levy's not. I ordered several of these types of books at once and eventually resold all the others. This is the one I kept.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Weird in Spots..., July 24, 2007

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Sunnyside "Sunnyside" (Astoria, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sports Injury Handbook: Professional Advice for Amateur Athletes (Paperback)

I just got this book today. It's a great idea, a sports injury handbook organized by bodypart **and** sport, but right off the bat, while browsing, I notice a few oddities: on page 221, Dr. Levy claims "exercise machines require you to lift too much weight," which is weird because one can certainly adjust the resistance on most any exercise machine out there -- and he makes that statement while advising free weights! Any bodybuilder or powerlifter knows that it is typically harder to use free weights than a machine: for example, dumbbell curls are much harder than machine biceps curls at the same weight. Also, on page 17 there is an illustration of the behind-the-neck pull-up, which is potentially more dangerous for some people than the regular front-of-the-neck type of pull-up. That's a very strange thing to see in a book on sports injuries! Though it's not exactly a dangerous movement, it does place the rotator cuff at greater risk of injury, especially for people who might have weak muscles and tendons there to begin with. The regular pull-up works the same muscles just as well, but without that slightly higher risk of injury.

I hope I don't find any other strange advice or illustrations in this book....