Injuries Books

This is a nice concise book of trauma. It gets only 4 stars only because it's not that thorough, but then, it's not a big, expensive book either. I recommend it.

Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it's definitely worth owning. One such book is Dennis R. Burke's, "Treating Martial Arts Injuries."

This is a really well done book for the most part and should be a wake-up call to everyone involved in the martial arts to start studying so that they can eventually become as proficient as possible at the very least in CPR and basic first aid. I myself have been certified as a First Responder of which CPR is included. I believe that this is an invaluable skill that you should learn as you never know when it might be needed to save another human beings life. If you look at the history of the martial arts in the Orient, you will discover that most of the martial arts masters were also medically trained in one form or another. Ever wonder why?

First off, this book should not be considered as a training manual for administering First Aid. Even though a lot of the information provided in this book is still valid, it should be read and digested as a basic guideline to go by after being provided with current and updated training and certification.

This book starts out with a very interesting philosophy concerning injuries and the martial arts. There is some very relevant information included in this section and some outstanding "food for thought." This is followed by a brief introductory section that takes a look not only at the actual act of administering First Aid, but also the area in which it is administered.

1. Basic First Aid:

This section starts out with a very good list of the items that should be included in a well stocked and easy to access First Aid Kit. It then covers a lot of the more common injuries that you are likely to encounter, such as; blisters, bruises, abrasions, hematomas, strains, sprains, etc., and how to treat them.

2. Facial Injuries:

As the title indicates, this section covers the most common types of facial injuries that you are likely to encounter and how to treat them. These include such injuries to various parts of the facial area such as; the eyes, nose and nasal area, ears, various fractures to the facial area, and tongue injuries.

3. Head and Neck Injuries:

This section primarily covers initial treatment to such injuries as; carotid sinus injuries and injuries to the neck and upper spine.

4. Shoulder and Upper Extremities:

This section covers the initial treatment of injuries that you are most likely to come into contact with in this area of the body. These are usually injuries to the following parts of the body; collarbone, elbow, hand, wrist, fingers, and various types of joint dislocations.

5. Trunk Injuries:

This section covers the initial treatment of injuries that you are most likely to come into contact with in this area of the body. These are usually injuries to the following parts of the body; the chest, the costo chondral (I will let you read about this one), cardiac, abdominal, and lower back.

6. Lower Extremities:

This section covers the initial treatment of injuries that you are most likely to come into contact with in this area of the body. These are usually injuries to the following parts of the body; the thigh, knee, ankle, foot, toes, and rupture of the Achilles' Tendon.

7. Rehabilitation Exercises:

This section is rather brief, but it does give you some very basic exercise that can be performed in order to aid in rehabilitation therapy.

8. Stretching and Weight Training:

The only real problem I have with this book is this particular section. I felt that it was way too brief and didn't really provide that much information in it. However, a lot of the information that is in this section was good information.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This book and the information supplied in it should only be used after you have taken and completed a currently updated First Aid program that is certified by the state in which you reside. First Aid is just that, first aid, it is not intended to be used to diagnose and treat injuries. It is and always has been designed to provide initial treatment and to stabilize an injury to the best of the person's ability until the proper medical care can be administered.

...got it for my emergency supply kit.

Looked through it & everything looked appealing possible to achieve for someone with little or no training. Then again, the military accepts casualties...

This was informative and fairly easy to understand. I recieved the nformation I was looking for.

I'm just getting started reading this book and so far I love it. I've been in the Veterinary field for a while and thought this would be a great book to have for a refresher and also to answer questions that I may have now that I've moved into the Critical Care / Emergency end of Veterinary Medicine.

This paperback first aid book is great to keep in your tack trunk/room to use as a quick reference guide to any medical inquiry.

The information on each topic was well organized and levels of care were discussed. I also liked the fact that when there was a difference of opinion concerning treatments each was discussed. There were no illustrations and the book is not a text for teaching wilderness medical care. Even as a trained First Responder I found some of the discussions were very tecnical and called for knowledge beyond the training of most outdoorsmen. It is not a guide for the beginner but rather for those with advanced first aid or medical training.

I wanted this to punch up my presentations for wound care education. It is a little simple but visually interesting. Sort of a comic book approach to wound care. Great addition to a reference library. The pictures are great, but some could be a little bigger for older eyes. Great overview, not meant to be totally comprehensive.
Donna McClure BSN, RN, ACHRN, CWOCN

Author Caren Topliff is correct in her assertion that there are not enough resources available to help patients and families faced with spinal cord injury (SCI). Wrestling Back should be applauded for its stark and unembellished storytelling. It is a thought provoking memoir, and very hard to put down. Topliff includes an appendix with contact information for SCI advocacy and treatment resources.

As an able-bodied person, can I imagine my legs not responding to my commands? I try. Can I imagine how permanent the word permanent can be? Wrestling Back is a terrifying first-person account written by the mother of an Olympic-bound college athlete who is permanently paralyzed in a car accident. Topliff's story of her son's struggle to live drives it home that there is a huge family drama behind spinal cord injuries. Even when the patient regains independence, the struggle to accept a new life with physical limits is unthinkable to most of us.

Topliff deserves praise for her painstaking and candid account of the tensions in her family, the medical care her son received, and her exhausting vigilance. It is notable that she spent much of her energy convincing her son to fight for his life yet couldn't always support herself in the same way: her quality of life often seemed depressingly low. Maybe it was the relentless pace and tone in which she wrote the story, with intense focus on the central experience of supporting her son, but I felt drained after finishing the book. It takes a pragmatic and focussed mindset to support someone who has suffered a major trauma. Topliff was as much a survivor as her son, but her efforts took an incredible toll on her.

In a physical sense, the SCI patient (statistically, a young adult) becomes an infant again at the time of the injury, and the mother often builds an exclusive relationship with the born again child, monopolizing the chores of physically caring for that child to the detriment of her family and herself. Topliff exhausted her physical and spiritual self as Larry's primary caregiver. Larry not only went through a rebirth as a quadraplegic, but also a second adolescence. Until he married, his mother lived with him in the same house, sleeping with one eye open and monitoring every aspect of his health. She didn't or couldn't allow her son to be fully independent. While it can't be denied that Larry had many physical complications and needed of a lot of care, is it possible that Topliff, in spite of herself, internalized the stereotype of the helpless disabled child-person in the wheelchair?

Through much of the book I felt Topliff was hoping for unattainable outcomes, for a cure. Perhaps she used hope as a lifeline. Unrealistic hope can be a defense mechanism against facing something that feels unacceptable. It is part of the human condition to long for what you cannot have. For someone whose body has been broken, whose sense of self has been shattered -- this longing for a return to 'normalcy' must become acute and painful, and a mother's instinct would want to relieve that pain.

A telling omission in this very personal story is dialogue with other family members, including Larry. Topliff's emotional journey is a lonely one. She describes expressions in her son's eyes that substituted for words, and she describes a lack of communication in the family. Families often shut down in reaction to this kind of life change, as a way of coping with the trauma. The drama and suddenness of it, the social stigma and the physical and financial burdens can be too much to take in all at once, and can pull families apart. It is uncannily similar to the scenario of facing homosexuality in a family member. Just as noone chooses to be disabled, many homosexual individuals would not choose to be gay, given the choice, because of the stigmas and difficulties it will present them in their lives, from social awkwardness to rejection and discrimination to a reduction of civil rights and on down the line. The new identity of the family member is something the family must learn to accept. If they will achieve closeness, they must learn to embrace it, despite the possible negative reactions of those outside the family.

There is a definite and vast canyon between Before and After a spinal cord injury. The injured person is not the only one to see the moment of their injury as a watershed. Parents have dreams that they project onto their children -- and partners and friends have an image of their loved one as 'able-bodied'. In Wrestling Back, Larry's parents were committed to helping him realize his goal of competing in the Olympics. A successful athlete, Larry's body and physicality were a part of his identity. Not only did friends and family see Larry in this role, he saw himself this way as well. Someone who arrives After the SCI has occurred might not see these Before ghost images so strongly, and could be less likely to have expectations of something different -- at the same time, they may possibly overlook the person who existed before the injury. There is no denying that Larry has changed, and there is no denying that Larry is still Larry.

In the closing paragraph of the book, Topliff explains in a very deliberate fashion the pride that she and her family feel for Larry and his accomplishments (he became a wrestling coach and a father). Her need to state this so explicitly pinpoints one of the most difficult struggles of SCI: the difficulty of acceptance. Prejudices and stereotypes of the disabled exist in all of us: not only in the mind of the public but in the families of the disabled, and most poignantly, within the disabled person him/herself. The preservation of pride in the face of a permanently disabling injury is the most incredible struggle of all.

Caren, i cannot thank you enough for telling your story.

This book has a great general guide to many, many aspects of spinal cord injury (22 chapters from range of motion and nutrition to driver's training and exercise). It amswers many questions if you have recentally suffered a spinal cord injury and are struggling though rehab, however for more in depth information I would look elsewhere.