The second edition of Bull's Handbook of Sports Injuries, edited
by William O. Roberts, MD, an associate professor of family medicine at the
University of Minnesota, is, like the first edition, a small paperback text,
which, as Dr. Roberts indicates, is a "mix of evidence-based and expert
opinion... of the authors." The book is heavy on text, but the
information is nicely subtitled in each chapter for easy reading and
reference. The text is a blend of overview and detail. The size of this book
does not permit an in-depth discussion of most entities; yet, the reader does
not finish a section feeling "shortchanged" in knowledge, but
satisfied by the comfortable depth of discussion on the topic.
Similar to many sports-medicine texts, this book is organized into three
sections: "Issues" (Part I) covers general concerns in sports
medicine, "Injury and Illness" (Part II) discusses specific
injuries as divided by anatomic area, and "Sport-Specific Issues"
(Part III) describes the injuries that are specific to each type of sport.
There is some overlap between the last two sections; for example, the topic of
concussions is discussed in the "Injury and Illness" section as
well as in the chapters on soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse, and figure skating in
the "Sport-Specific Issues" section. Yet, because each author
presents the material with a slightly different perspective, such repetition
is neither annoying nor confusing.
The quality of the references differs for each chapter, representing the
authors' preferences; however, the index for the handbook is complete, and the
table of contents, while not exhaustive, adequately describes the information
contained in the text. Missing from the text is a discussion of the role of
alternative medicine in sports medicine, as well as care of the older athlete,
the very young athlete, and the physically or mentally challenged athlete.
Many chapters reflect the bias of a primary-care physician; yet, most of the
chapters that discuss musculoskeletal injuries are authored by orthopaedists
and are excellent (for example, the chapters on the shoulder, the knee, and
chronic compartment syndrome). The Appendix contains the five Team Physician
Consensus Statements developed by the American College of Sports Medicine, and
there is an excellent section on ergogenic aids in sports. Also notable are
the chapters that contain sports-specific discussions of injury, as most of
these chapters not only present an overview of the injuries that occur in the
sport but also provide background information regarding the field of play, the
use of specialized equipment, and the need for protective equipment.
Although much of the material contained in this text can certainly be found
in other general textbooks on sports medicine, the advantage of this text is
its small size, which permits it to fit conveniently inside the medical bag of
a team physician.