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Book and Multimedia Reviews

The intended purpose of this text is to provide the reader with a thorough understanding of mechanical diagnosis and treatment (MDT) of the cervical and thoracic spine. The first 4 chapters provide background information about the cervical spine including a general overview of neck pain and its impact on the general population, anatomy, aging and degeneration, and biomechanics. Chapters 5–7 explore the use of diagnosis and classification of patients with cervical spine with a focus on mechanical diagnosis and a comprehensive review of the research. Serious spinal pathology is discussed in chapter 8 and this is followed by a chapter that reviews non-mechanically based diagnosis such as chronic pain and cervical spondylosis and its impact on the application of MDT. Chapters 10 through 16 explore MDT of the cervical spine and include detailed information on history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, and treatment. Management principles for the MDT-classifications along with individual chapters devoted to both headaches and whiplash are the focus of chapters 17 through 25. The final 6 chapters discuss MDT of the thoracic spine. An appendix is provided with table format categories for mechanical diagnosis and red flags for serious pathology. Extensive references and a thorough index complete this text. 
 
The 2 volumes are clearly written and present the reader with an easily understandable mechanically based model for cervical and thoracic spine assessment and treatment. As a non-McKenzie trained therapist, I found that both assessment and treatment techniques were fully explained and easily transferable to the clinical setting. Progression of treatment based on patient response is well detailed and provides clinicians with unambiguous management strategies for patients who are both improving and those who are not responding to mechanically based treatment. The chapter on serious spinal pathology serves as an excellent review for the identification of patients who require medical referral. The authors should be applauded for their extensive review of the literature throughout the two volumes and frank acknowledgement of areas where the evidence base for MDT is lacking. In summary, this text provides readers with a comprehensive review of MDT and can be used as both an introductory text for novice clinicians and as a reference text for the experienced clinician.