Injuries Books

This book, based on a recent (2007-08) RAND study is, so far, the best look we have into what we, as a nation, and what we as mental health providers are likely to be facing over the next half century.

The study lays out three "signature injuries" of the Iraq/Afghanistan war -- PTSD, depression, and TBI or traumatic brain injury (formerly known as closed head injury). Yes, the study has severe limitations, which to their credit, they acknowledge. As a mental health provider working regularly with soldiers from this war and working a lot with the families of soliders from this war, it's my strong guess that their phone interviews grossly underestimate the prevalance of all three injuries. And their prevalence rates -- 14% for PTSD; 14% for major depression, and scariest of all, 19% for TBI -- are truly sobering. This alone totals to over a third of a million young men & women.

The reasons I believe for underestimates are not only my work with "supposedly" non-PTSD, TBI & major depression soliders. It's also 1. knowing how difficult it is for soldiers to admit to these problems, because it so goes against the grain of their own self-perceptiions & hopes and of the necessary military culture, 2. because of the tragically lingering & sometimes horrendous prejudices still against soliders admitting to PTSD (I know, for example, of a solider who was shamed, this within the last few months (2008), by his commanding officer and in front of his fellow soliders), 3. lingering misperceptions on what PTSD, depression and TBI are & what they mean, 4. I have never seen a TBI that didn't go toward major depression & PTSD once it became clear to the person what the on-going deficits & limitations were, and 5. how common major depression becomes once PTSD has settled in for a longer run. Co-morbidity rates -- how common it is to find major depression with PTSD -- run, I believe, at about 60% -- many of us believe that depression is a common part of PTSD. Just as frightening, the comordity rates of PTSD & addictions or alcoholism with males run, as I recall, about 65%, around 2/3's, among vets about 75%. And addictions, while discussed in this study, wasn't given a prominent place. You have to read quite a bit to find it.

The Army & Air Force (I haven't worked with the Navy & Marines) are making genuine & on-going efforts & good progress in changing their culture & systems around assessing, respecting & treating these combat injuries. They're also doing much better in educating soliders & their families, and in setting up programs and promoting access to those programs for treating these illnesses. Only those of us who've worked in the too-recent "bad old days" know how much improvement has been made. And there are now ways, once we know what's happening, to provide for official support & healing.

But: this study, the breadth of these injuries is enormously scary. As the Rand study points out, this will be very, very costly for a long time. (The study provides preliminary cost estimates.) It's also likely to overwhelm the VA, which is, I'm told, powering up in response.

We have, as a field, good techniques for treating PTSD & depression, with more appearing all the time. But our ignorance in assesing & treating TBI is truly vast. We have 60 years, since WWII, of clear evidence on what happens with combat PTSD over the lifetime. Our knowledge of TBI, especially in its less severe forms, over the lifespan is poor. I've worked with TBI's regularly for over a decade and my wife in the last few years sustained a serious TBI. (I've worked 20 years with PTSD & major depression.) At this stage with TBI, we don't even know what we don't know.

Again, this book has important information for all citizens. We're going to be voting monies to support our wounded vets, this in a time of severely limited budgets. We're going to be designing programs to meet these needs, needs which can have even greater costs if we don't treat these injuries. (This study makes clear and, generally, solid recommendations here, too.) Whatever we may think of this war, we must join together to support the men & women we, as a country, have asked to fight. Anything less is dishonorable. This book prepares us, in many ways, for our responsibilities: what that means, what we're facing, what it's going to cost.

The problem with this book is its not only its incompleteness, but just as much its completeness. Most of us, including mental health professionals, don't need this detail and can't even productively wade through it. I can only hope that a book half or a quarter of its 450 pages will ultimately be produced. Because not only mental health providers & policy planners need to know the scope and the recommendations on services. So do ordinary citizens. And unless you're willing to wade through a lot of words -- mercifully not as many technical words as could be -- you'll likely be overwhelmed. Note, too: this book is not about how to assess or treat any of these disorders.

But as a country, and as voters, we need to know what's here.

Whether you are at teetotaler alcoholic-on the way to becoming an alcoholic, the loved one of an alcoholic or just someone who wants to understand,you will find this book totally compelling reading.

"Through A Glass Brightly" is about a most remarkable man who trod the long downhill road into alcoholism and found himself in a life of degradation and sorrow that most people could never begin to understand. Yet despite becoming one of the dregs of society he managed to make a remarkable turnaround into a most admirable person who passionately cares about people who are in the same situation that he found himself many years ago. His dedication to to the cause of alcoholism has no boundaries, rich, poor, famous, through the years he has tried to help them through the Chaucer Clinic which he founded in 1989. To have the courage and conviction to tell the world the real story of alcoholism and the terrible effect it has on the lives of the alcoholics themselves and their families and friends around them was a truly wonderful action.

The book at times can be very funny, it can also be heartrending and sad. The book dispels the myth that most people believe tht all alcohoics are down and outs, vagrants and winos. This is not true, alcoholics come from all walks of life, Alcohol like Drugs is an addiction, it is also a very serious illness that in some cases leads to the death of the drinker. As I avidly read through the chapters I found that I could relate to many of the things that were happening to the author, because I have a loved on, a daughter who was alcoholic and was treading the long downhill road herself, but thanks to my reading "Through a Glass Brightly" and her eventual acceptance of her alcoholism she entered the Chaucer Clinic, and with their help she is climbing the uphill road back into society.

On reading "Through A Glass Brightly"it will put your views on alcoholics into a diffeent perspective. This book is not fiction-it is true life shown at its worst and sometimes its best.

Rare research into the use of the bow and arrow by native americans, from arrow wounds to the use of the bow and arrow, how it was constructed, from various bands use of different designs etc. I think this is a good book to have in your library if you are interested in NA archery, and stoneage bow and arrow warfare. Made me wonder if Ben Franklin wasn't on to something when he suggested the colonial army use the bow and arrow against the british during the revolutionary war.

This healing story of a tree whose branches are taken from her in a storm helps children find comfort and inspiration in their own journey. The author writes with sensitivity and the illustrations are delightful. I would recommend this book to anyone who facilitates the healing process of children.

For me as a European law professor this - admittedly somewhat outdated book - was very helpful in many respects: it showed me how thorough research on the tort process and its shortcomings is performed and it also convinced me that medical malpractice is quite different from say automobile accidents as far as the role of tort law is concerned. I think that this is a good book to read for anyone studying the tort process and evaluating the arguments for and against alternative patient insurance arrangements. I was a bit disappointed by the final chapter ('Ruminations for the future'), because the policy statements and suggestions for reform in that chapter are in my opinion not really firmly backed by the empirical evidence of the previous chapters.

I am an RN who was doing a church camp and this was taken with me to be used as a handy resource. I love that it is organized and concise with its directions without a lot of pictures and colors...it tells you exactly what to do and in clear numbered steps.

This text covers very effectively the many facets of musculoskeletal conditions presented in the primary care setting. The approach follows logically, the etiology and causal factors of each injury / condition. To make each ailment better understood, a blend of xrays, diagrams and assessment techniques are offered. This is important, because symptoms often need to be sorted by M-S, circulatory, and nervous innervation. The text also describes prevention and treatment plans which can be recommended by the primary care provider or other disciplines such as physical therapists. Having been referred to so often, this text has been on my office bookshelf for only 2 weeks and already it is showing signs of "wear and tear". It would be an excellent addition to any primary care provider's library.

I found this book very informative. While everyone I know has either had carpel tunnel syndrome or knows someone who had it most people are not really informed concerning the alternative treatments and possible causes of the condition.

In my reading I found that there are treatments that bring a degree of relief and do not require immediate surgery. By learning to take care of myself I have experienced a good degree of relief from the constant pain I was causing myself because I didn't know how to avoid it.

I would not recommend only reading the book and not seeking medical attention, but by knowing the questions to ask one can make more intelligent decisions concerning treatment options.

The research seems creditable and the author seems to have had considerable experience with the syndrome.

I do not have problem to receive my book, although I live in another country.

This book should be read by all medical officers practising Sports Medicine.This book gave me lot of knowledge and also helped me to formulate thwe nutritional requirements not only for sports men & women but also for military personnel performing highly operational duty.