Performing Arts Medicine

From The Critics

Reviewer: David B. Conley, MD(Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This second edition of a book on performing arts medicine includes additional chapters and revisions where medical knowledge has progressed since the first edition. The authors have expanded chapter introductions and definitions to make the book more accessible to not only medical personnel, but also to teachers of performing arts as well as performing artists.
Purpose: Since the first edition there has been a substantial increase in interest in performing arts medicine. The purpose of this text is to bring together the diverse professions of medicine, speech pathology, nursing, music education, dance instruction, acting instruction, as well as the performers themselves. By bridging the language barriers between these diverse groups, the authors make relevant treatment options available to the performing artist. This is a worthy objective as treatment of performing artists often involves a unique approach.
Audience: The audience is the performing arts medicine specialist as well as the arts educator and performing artist. Those are the appropriate audiences. The authors and editors are well respected as authorities in their fields.
Features: The book covers medical problems and their treatment relating to voice, vision, and hearing, as well as musculoskeletal and ergonomic issues of the upper and lower extremities. The best quality of this book is the readability of most chapters, making these somewhat obscure medical issues accessible to a broad audience.
Assessment: This book is appropriate for any physician, therapist, or teacher involved in the care or education of performing artists. The authors do an excellent job of bridging the gaps between medical knowledge and the specialized problems faced by performers. There are few books in this field that will appeal to such a broad audience with such relevance to the unique needs of performing artists.

David B. Conley

This second edition of a book on performing arts medicine includes additional chapters and revisions where medical knowledge has progressed since the first edition. The authors have expanded chapter introductions and definitions to make the book more accessible to not only medical personnel, but also to teachers of performing arts as well as performing artists. Since the first edition there has been a substantial increase in interest in performing arts medicine. The purpose of this text is to bring together the diverse professions of medicine, speech pathology, nursing, music education, dance instruction, acting instruction, as well as the performers themselves. By bridging the language barriers between these diverse groups, the authors make relevant treatment options available to the performing artist. This is a worthy objective as treatment of performing artists often involves a unique approach. The audience is the performing arts medicine specialist as well as the arts educator and performing artist. Those are the appropriate audiences. The authors and editors are well respected as authorities in their fields. The book covers medical problems and their treatment relating to voice, vision, and hearing, as well as musculoskeletal and ergonomic issues of the upper and lower extremities. The best quality of this book is the readability of most chapters, making these somewhat obscure medical issues accessible to a broad audience. This book is appropriate for any physician, therapist, or teacher involved in the care or education of performing artists. The authors do an excellent job of bridging the gaps between medical knowledge and the specialized problems faced by performers.There are few books in this field that will appeal to such a broad audience with such relevance to the unique needs of performing artists.

Booknews

New edition of a text which is not only a reference for physicians but for performers and teachers on how to avoid injuries and assess medical care when health problems do occur. Twenty-one chapters discuss problems relating to the musculoskelatal system, hearing loss, facial pain, applied ergonomics and therapeutic management, neurological problems, reproductive disorders in female dancers, psychological issues, and legal considerations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

3 Stars from Doody