REVIEWS OF CLINICAL SPORTS MEDICINE

Review by Tom Crisp 
Sports Physician, Royal London Hospital and Barbican Health London Chief Medical Officer to British Paralympic team Sydney 2000  

Br J Sports Med 2001; 35:365 
© 2001 the British Journal of Sports Medicine

This, the second edition, has been thoroughly updated and revamped (see the section on Achilles tendons!). It is a superb book for the clinician working with athletes, outlining the treatment of injuries in a straightforward and clear way. It is such a change to read a book written by physicians rather than surgeons, with consequently a much more functional approach! This book should be read by all sports physicians and physiotherapists in training and should be by the desk of anyone likely to treat athletes' injuries, GPs and specialists alike. 

The first part "Fundamental principles" is excellent for someone starting out in sports medicine, but reminds us all of the basics. It lists more sites of stress fractures than most of us will see in a clinical lifetime, with hints on management. The "Regional problems" (part B) is more comprehensive than in any other book I have read with important "practice pearls" in some chapters (why not all?). There are often, as for ankle pain, lists divided into common causes, less common causes, and "not to miss" problems, making it very easy to build one's own differential diagnosis. The layout could not be easier to follow, with a hugely detailed contents list at the start and good index, and the book is well referenced with advice for further reading. There are also sections on "Sports performance", "Special groups" (the section on the disabled is brief but good), "Medical problems in sport", and "Practical aspects of sports medicine"-the doping screening, etc. So nothing is left out. If there is a fault it is that the clinical section is too small a part of the whole. 

This book will sell like hot cakes, and be on every course reading list.