Clinical Biomechanics 1986; 1: 59-60 Printed in .Great Britain

Book reviews The Dynamic Hip Screw Implant System

by P. Regazzoni, Th. Riiedi, R. Winquist and M. Allgiiwer Springer-Verlag. Pp. 45.

This concise text is recommended reading for all orthopaedic surgeons new to the business of managing fractures of the proximal femur using internal fixation. It is characteristically clear and business-like and could easily be read in an evening. It is a SO-page handbook that gives a brief classification of the types of fractures of the proximal femur that may be encountered in any trauma service; this is related to the problems of fracture management using the DHS system as well as with the conventional A0 fixed angle plate.

The description of the surgical technique for fixing these often difficult fractures is very clear though some would question the author’s method of using a regular operating table rather than a fracture table. However, it is a help to know how to manage these fractures with only limited equipment.

The illustrations of the procedure are simple to follow with a number of examples of how mistakes can be made and how to avoid them.

There follow 15 pages of X-ray illustrations of example% of different fractures and how they were managed including a few errors with their consequences.

Technical information includes a clinical trial of 630 fractures treated with DHS. angle blade plates or Ender’s nails. The trial favours the use of the DHS system when fractures are classified as unstable.

For the more technically minded there is a full biomechanical profile of the implant together with an explanation of the reasons for the mechanical advantages of the 140”-150” plates. Given an understanding of the significance of the concept of stability and instability of those fractures, the surgeon will not have any difficulty in selecting the correct implant for any fracture that may be presented for management.

We have become accustomed to a business-like approach from these authors. Once again they have not disappointed us. This manual is worthy of inclusion in any orthopaedic, nursing or physiotherapy library and should be made available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students alike. Its principles should endure for years to come.

G. M.

Manual Handling. A Review Paper

by J. D. G. Troup and F. C. Edwards Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London 1985. Pp. 70. Illus. f5.50.

The authors review the current state of knowledge on manual handling and lifting based upon a compilation of nearly 500 references quoted. The material is presented in four main parts: Statistical and epidemiological aspects, Biological aspects, Individual variation, assessment and screening and Further approaches to prevention. Each chapter is subdivided into sections and further subdivided into the specific topics in order to ease access to the information desired. The Introduction starting each section and the reviewers’ Comment at its end are especially valuable for the reader as

they provide some orientation in this complex field. Further help is offered by a list of Further Reading and appendices about lifting accident statistics, metabolic cost of work and legislation existing in the UK concerned with load handling requirements.

Preparation of this review was initiated by the desire to obtain a reference document as a background to government regulations. The review demonstrates in a unique fashion the interdependence of anatomical, physiological, clinical, mechanical, biomechanical, psychological, social and economic factors in the field of manual handling. The book is highly recommended to all those with technical, scientific, clinical or teaching interest in the field.

P. B.

On the Centre of Gravity of the Human Body

by W. Braune and 0. Fischer Springer-Verlag. 1985. Pp. 96. DM 68.

Anyone who has researched into the centre of gravity of the human body will have come across photographs of late- nineteenth century German infantrymen standing in various military postures, naked except for helmet, rifle, knapsack and a strategically placed fig leaf. This new book is an English translation of the original book that these photographs came from in 1889.

Braune and Fischer, using four rigidly frozen cadavers, placed the centres of gravity of the whole body and then of the segments into which they were later divided in a three- dimensional network of coordinates for different attitudes.

Dr Paul Maquet from Belgium and Mr Ronald Furlong, a Harley Street surgeon, have performed an excellent translation and as Dr Maquet writes in the Foreword ‘this work is a monument to the renowned German thoroughness as demonstrated by the relentless pursuit of data and the meticulous accuracy of the conclusions’. That it is. It is also probably the most boring book ever published for browsing through in the train or on the beach.

However, for anyone needing data on the centres of gravity of the human body and its segments, this thin volume must still be regarded as the standard reference.

D. P. E.

Handbook of Osteopathic Technique, 2nd edition

by Laurie S. Hartman Hutchinson Books, 1985. Pp. 206. Illus. f 19.95

The Second edition of Mr Hartman’s excellent Handbook of Osteopathic Technique is now available. (See review Vol. XV, No 2, December 1983. British Osteopathic Journal.)

Physiotherapy Practice

New journal. Churchill Livingstone

This is a new journal produced by Churchill Livingstone-a very reputable medical publishers-and is an international journal which aims to provide a forum for publication of physiotherapy research and current developments.