Abstract
This text encompasses functional anatomy, theories of movement, basic physical assessments, and some biomechanical principles within its cover. It was a monumental undertaking to take a foray into important ideas, such as stress-strain curves in relation to tissues, which are not usually presented in occupational therapy texts. On balance, the author was successful in this endeavour of integrating a body of research-based knowledge with occupational therapy practice.
The online resources for doing manual muscle testing and range of motion evaluations (available for 120 days with a subscription number) are professionally done and an excellent resource for students. Unfortunately, the student buying the book would need to purchase a hard copy text after the expiry of the subscription day had passed, as the information is not replicated in this book.
The tables are extensive lists of the concepts presented in the chapters and could be a strong starting point from which to learn the material. The diagrams, particularly in the chapters on anatomy, can easily be used for review of the material. Some of the diagrams would have benefited from labels as well as expanded views of the concepts of interest, as they seem to be slightly reductionistic.
The author has amalgamated many kinesiology reference texts and has augmented the information with some research literature from exercise physiology and biomechanics. Although a large amount of material is covered, some of the descriptions of the principles that are mentioned, for example, statics and dynamics, are confusing and could have benefited from increased scrutiny and elaboration by the author.
Taking everything into account, this text is good; it incorporates many important concepts and pushes the reader to understand information that is not typically addressed in occupational therapy texts. The author is to be commended.