Journal of Orthodontics, Vol. 29, No. 2, 154,
June 2002
© 2002 British Orthodontic Society
Craniofacial Dysfunction and Pain: Manual Therapy, Assessment and Management
von Piekartz H, Bryden L (Eds) Butterworth Heinemann, 2001 246 pp., £32.50 ISBN 0–7506–2963–0
B. Mohlin
This book is stated by the editors to be aimed at open-minded clinicians and researchers within speech therapy, dentistry, orthodontics, psychology, osteopathy, and chiropractice who are interested in patients with difficult craniocervical and craniofacial problems. Consequently, the book covers a wide variety of issues related to craniofacial dysfunction reaching from growth of the skull related to mechanical stimulation, to clinical reasoning, pain management, and clinimetrics. Functional anatomy as a background to various management strategies is very carefully described, sometimes to the extent that the reader might tend to lose an overview of current theories. Naturally, various techniques to manipulate cranial bones and nervous tissue are given a lot of attention in this book. Even though the techniques are carefully described, it appears difficult for someone not experienced in manual therapy to fully adopt such methods, despite an effort in this book to standardize cranial manual techniques.
The need for evidence-based research is also stated several times in the book. A number of clinical problems are examined and the reader given the benefit of wide clinical experience related to manual therapy. Cranial asymmetry in KISS children, long-term ear disease in children, as well as examination and management of cervicogenic headache are described. I feel that one of the greatest values of this book, not least for orthodontists, is to provide multiple theories. The authors view management of craniofacial pain from many different angles. The chapter about clinical reasoning gives a good insight into how different professionals approach a clinical problem. This book does not provide simple solutions for all situations, but can certainly be recommended for those who want to widen their horizons about the management of craniofacial pain.
