Clinical Chiropractic: The Management of Pain and Disability -- Upper Body Complaints

Category: Patient Care

Author: R. C. Schafer, D.C., FICC
Publication: 552 Pages -- Hardbound Book

See pages xx, Part #T-125 for information on how to order

Every chiropractor knows how to manage a case of headache or back pain. We see many of these every day. The focus of this book is to outline treatment protocols for the common, as well as the uncommon patient complaints. The chapters cover the following areas: ears and hearing; eyes and vision; face, mouth and nose; headache; neck and throat; shoulder and arm; elbow and forearm; wrist and hand; exterior thorax; heart and lungs; abdomen; endocrine imbalance; selected systemic infections; and the chiropractic spinal adjustment. This is truly a comprehensive manual which covers what chiropractic treatment can do to help the human body recover from illnesses in all these areas.

The practicing doctor needs this book. It is not common for a patient with dysphagia to walk in the door seeking chiropractic care. However, it is common to discover that a patient has dysphagia during a history when the patient speaks of having trouble taking vitamins because it is difficult or painful to swallow. If you are not sure exactly what to do, go to page one of this book and read about the causes of dysphagia, the diagnostic workup, eclectic diagnostic aids, what spinal adjustments may help, and adjunctive and nutritional therapies. It even has a full-page of diagrams for every condition showing acupoints, auriculopoints, hand points, foot points, and trigger points. This is truly comprehensive. Every student will also want this book to learn complete case management of uncommon conditions.

Dr. Schafer has published 18 books. He is well-qualified as an author and researcher to write on this important subject. Most importantly, the book itself is a tribute to Dr. Schafer's qualifications. It is obvious that there was a vast amount of research done for this book to bring together conditions, workup protocols, and the various treatments for all of these diseases.

This book is well-written and is intended as a reference book. It is completely indexed and even the Table of Contents makes it easy to look up any condition. Every condition has a full-page of diagrams. The diagnostic workups include necessary lab work. No stone was left unturned. It is a one-stop reference book for conditions as varied as earache, laryngitis, gout, and colitis.

The cost of this book is $59. The value is much higher. In fact, this is one of those books that contains information so valuable that when you need it, you don't care how much it costs.

I recommend this book for every practicing doctor and student. Even though there are things listed that I do not use in my practice -- like acupoints -- the only criticism I can make is that it contains more information than necessary. It is the closest thing I have seen to a Merck Manual for chiropractors.

Eggleston rating: 10

Steven C. Eggleston, D.C.
Huntington Beach, California