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THE JOCK DOC'S BODY REPAIR KIT by M.D. Feldman

THE JOCK DOC'S BODY REPAIR KIT

The New Sports Medicine for Recovery and Increased Performance

by M.D. Feldman

Pub Date: April 19th, 1999
ISBN: 0-312-19905-8
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Breezy prose, but a sound and reasonably thorough home resource for the casual athlete. In his practice, orthopedist Feldman (director of sports medicine at New York’s St. Vincent’s Hospital) sees a lot of what he terms “the athletic equivalent of cognitive dissonance—people, who for reasons of ego or ignorance misjudge the capabilities of their bodies to perform.” The resulting overuse or extreme sudden effort leads to injury. Feldman has found that 90 percent of all sports injuries are the same in terms of damage done, injury signs, and recovery rate—and can be reliably self-diagnosed and safely treated at home. Feldman covers each of eight commonly injured body parts: shoulder, hip/thigh/groin, elbow, hand/Wrist, spine/back, knee, foot, and ankle. Initial assessment of the injury has two parts. First is determining its severity: visible deformity, limited range of motion, extensive swelling, severe weakness, or a loud “pop” at the time of injury are signs to head for a physician. Otherwise, one can go to step two, a five-question series that diagnoses the most likely musculoskeletal injuries for each given body area; then it provides the appropriate treatments and rehabilitative exercises. Feldman gives credit to medication, yoga, massage, and acupuncture as being often appropriate for both prevention and treatment. Surgery, he emphasizes, is not always an answer. Finally, Feldman offers some advice on orthotics, nutrition, special conerns of women, and new developments in treating sports injuries. A saavvy, well- organized reference. (80 b&w photos, 2 color illustrations)