Review
"Dr. Halpern has authored the state-of-the-art text for understanding everything about the knee. It might just save you a visit to the emergency room."--E. Lee Rice, D.O., San Diego Sports Medicine

"This book is all about plain talk and advice. This is what the physician should be telling you but doesn't have either the time or the inclination to do so. This is not a book of conjecture, just plain, practical tips based upon scientific evidence."--Douglas B. McKeag, M.D., M.S., AUL professor of preventive health medicine, chair of the department of family medicine, and director of the Center for Sports Medicine at Indiana University



Review
"Dr. Halpern has authored the state-of-the-art text for understanding everything about the knee. It might just save you a visit to the emergency room."--E. Lee Rice, D.O., San Diego Sports Medicine

"This book is all about plain talk and advice. This is what the physician should be telling you but doesn't have either the time or the inclination to do so. This is not a book of conjecture, just plain, practical tips based upon scientific evidence."--Douglas B. McKeag, M.D., M.S., AUL professor of preventive health medicine, chair of the department of family medicine, and director of the Center for Sports Medicine at Indiana University



Book Description
Ever sustained a knee injury? Want to prevent one? Whether you're young and actively involved in sports, an enthusiastic weekend warrior, or someone who's simply getting older and whose body is changing, The Knee Crisis Handbook will show you how to take care of your knees. You'll learn what to do if you sustain an injury, how to prevent a repeat injury, and how to help yourself avoid injury in the first place.

Inside you'll find:

* Sport-specific knee injury prevention tips
* Advice on caring for your knees when you're young, older, or even pregnant
* What to look for when choosing a physician and physical therapist
* Treatment options, including acupuncture and other complementary medicine therapies
* Medications: what you should and shouldn't take
* What you can expect from surgery and recovery
* How to avoid surgery
* Complete exercise programs

With physical therapy strategies by Marty Jaramillo, P.T., A.T.C., C.S.C.S., and complementary medicine strategies by Robert Abramson, M.D.



Book Info
Consumer text offers practical tips and guidance on how to take care of knees and avoid knee injury. Provides guidance in choosing a physician and physical therapist, discusses a wide variety of treatment options, and demonstrates complete exercise programs. Also addresses what to expect from knee surgery and recovery. Softcover.


From the Back Cover
Ever sustained a knee injury? Want to prevent one? Whether you're young and actively involved in sports, an enthusiastic weekend warrior, or someone who's simply getting older and whose body is changing, The Knee Crisis Handbook will show you how to take care of your knees. You'll learn what to do if you sustain an injury, how to prevent a repeat injury, and how to help yourself avoid injury in the first place.

"Dr. Halpern has authored the state-of-the-art text for understanding everything about the knee. It might just save you a visit to the emergency room."--E. Lee Rice, D.O., San Diego Sports Medicine

Inside you'll find:

* Sport-specific knee injury prevention tips
* Advice on caring for your knees when you're young, older, or even pregnant
* What to look for when choosing a physician and physical therapist
* Treatment options, including acupuncture and other complementary medicine therapies
* Medications: what you should and shouldn't take
* What you can expect from surgery and recovery
* How to avoid surgery
* Complete exercise programs

"This book is all about plain talk and advice. This is what the physician should be telling you but doesn't have either the time or the inclination to do so. This is not a book of conjecture, just plain, practical tips based upon scientific evidence."--Douglas B. McKeag, M.D., M.S., AUL professor of preventive health medicine, chair of the department of family medicine, and director of the Center for Sports Medicine at Indiana University

With physical therapy strategies by Marty Jaramillo, P.T., A.T.C., C.S.C.S., and complementary medicine strategies by Robert Abramson, M.D.

Dr. Brian Halpern is a board-certified sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He is a former associate team physician for the New York Mets and the nation's first nonsurgical sports medicine fellowship-trained physician.

Laura Tucker is the coauthor of several health and medical books. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, New York.



About the Author
Dr. Brian Halpern is a board-certified sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He is a former associate team physician for the New York Mets and the nation's first nonsurgical sports medicine fellowship-trained physician.

Laura Tucker is the coauthor of several health and medical books. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, New York.



Excerpted from Knee Crisis Handbook, The by Brian Halpern. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction By Jane E. Brody Personal Health Columnist, The New York Times I only wish I'd had this book thirtyfive years ago - before I became a runner, a fanatical tennis player, a downhill skier. Before I'd torn three ligaments, tore and shredded a meniscus, and developed advanced arthritis in both knees because I didn't know enough about strength training and stretching. If I'd been able to read and apply the simple and sensible advice in this book, I would have known how to protect these most valuable joints in my body so that now, in my sixties, I'd still be able to hold my own on the tennis court, zip around the skating rink, walk painlessly down a flight of stairs and just walk--as long and as far as I may want to. I wish I'd known thirtyfive years ago just how often I put myself at increased risk of knee injury, and that the wearandtear arthritis that now cramps my lifestyle will eventually mean a double knee replacement. The Knee Crisis Handbook by Dr. Brian Halpern is loaded with invaluable information on protecting and rehabilitating knees, information that is accessible to any reader interested in pursuing health and remaining physically active from cradle to grave. It is filled with facts and practical advice from a real pro that you're not likely to find anywhere else, certainly not all in one place. The book is extremely helpful to those who, like me, have already sustained serious knee damage and now face the prospect of rehabilitation, surgery, or both. You will learn how to postpone the day when you may be forced by disability to undergo surgery, and what to do if and when that day should come. You will learn why you should not ignore knee pain until it becomes crippling. You will also learn something else I wish I'd known years ago--how to choose and evaluate a physical therapist who really knows knees and knows how to get an injured or surgical patient back on track and moving again in a way that protects against reinjury. A good therapist should be able to motivate you to continue on your own to do the work necessary to keep your knees healthy. The knee is a joint that evolution never finished improving. If you could look through the files of any orthopedic surgeon, it would be immediately apparent that the human knee was simply not designed to withstand the stresses of modern life. Once primates started walking on two instead of four legs, two instead of four knees were forced to bear the body's full weight and adjust to every twist and turn, jump and squat, along with such routine stresses as climbing up and down stairs and bending over to pick up something on the floor. Just think how many times a day you flex, rotate, pivot, extend, shift, lean, walk, run, jump, kneel, or otherwise use and abuse your knees. And that is not to mention the abuse sustained through years of dancing, jogging, skiing, gardening, cycling, golfing, playing tennis, inline skating, spring cleaning, even swimming. Almost everything people do for recreation is tough on the knee. From one perspective, the knee is a remarkable feat of engineering, a highly complex joint with an incredible range of motion. But it is also a rather small joint, considering the burden it must bear and the tasks it is asked daily to perform. This renders the knee highly vulnerable to injury. It is a joint that was designed to last maybe forty years, not the eighty or more most of us now are living. You don't have to be skiing moguls or playing Ultimate Frisbee to sustain a serious knee injury. Simply missing a step or doing too many whip kicks in the pool can do it. This makes it important for everyone to know how to strengthen the muscles that support the knee to reduce its burden. The Knee Crisis Handbook will tell you exactly how--and why--this should be done. It explains, for example, why a cyclist with highly developed thigh muscles may still be at risk of a knee injury because his muscle development is unbalanced. It will convince you of the critical necessity of regular stretching exercises to reduce the risk that overly tight muscles will cause a tear in a ligament or tendon stressed beyond its limits. Everyone who is physically active--and everyone who is inactive--should read this book. So that means everyone, since both the active and inactive are at risk of suffering debilitating knee injuries that can keep them from enjoying the best things in life--from a walk in the country to carrying a grandchild. How do you explain to a tired eighteen-monthold that you cannot carry him up the stairs because your knees hurt? So please don't wait until you yourself are suffering a "knee crisis" before you read this book and apply the lessons herein. You'll be very glad you did.

FROM THE PUBLISHER