"An Osteopathic Approach to Children" presents a comprehensive general overview of pediatric medicine from an osteopathic perspective. Many different groups of healthcare providers are now considering the merits of applying the principles of manual medicine and manual therapy in the care and treatment of children. The existing textbooks of medical pediatrics and physical therapy available for reference may address selected orthopedic problems in children but they are limited in scope and they rarely include the use of osteopathic principles. Members of the osteopathic profession have a hundred-year history of treating children using the manual application of osteopathic principles. Most of this information has been handed down through mentoring, apprenticeship and lecture. Very little of this information is actually available to interested clinicians in published form. "An Osteopathic Approach to Children" has been written and now thoroughly updated, to provide a comprehensive textbook and reference source which deals specifically with the osteopathic treatment of children. The book is divided into two main parts.
The first part discusses the normal development, physiology and anatomy of the body systems from birth to adulthood. The second part explores the conditions and diseases of childhood and outlines the rationale for osteopathic treatment for each disorder. This is probably the first pediatric book to discuss clinical problems from the perspective of the interrelatedness of structure and function. This unique approach will make it an invaluable source of reference for all those interested in using an osteopathic approach to the treatment of children in their care. Clinicians will find it an invaluable help in their efforts to provide safe and effective healthcare to children.
