Reviewer: Daryl J Lawson, PT, DSc (Western Michigan University College of Health & Human Services)
Description: The cornerstone to this introduction to surface electromyography (SEMG) is the electrode atlas in part II, which will assist clinicians with where to place electrodes and what to expect to see at a given movement for a wide variety of muscle actions.
Purpose: The purpose is to introduce the principles and practices of SEMG to clinicians wishing to use SEMG for patient or client care.
Audience: This book is intended for beginners who would like to learn and use SEMG as well as advanced professionals who want to deepen their knowledge of SEMG. The audience includes physical therapists, occupational therapists, biofeedback trainers, behavioral medicine practitioners, psychologist, dentists, chiropractors, biomedical engineers, exercise physiologists, and complementary and alternative medicine practitioners. Although the book is most suitable for beginners, it is written well for all clinicians, and advanced SEMG clinicians may find the electrode atlas a very valuable resource. The two authors are distinguished in the field of SEMG, and John Basmjian, DC, MD, FRCP, FRCPS, considered the father of SEMG, contributed the foreword.
Features: The 17 chapters in the second edition include 13 of the original chapters, the atlas, and the appendixes. Chapter 14, on the "Past, Present, and Future," has been rewritten to reflect progress in the field and new chapters by Jeffrey Cram, Maya Durie, Eleanor Criswell, and Marek Jantos have been added. This edition has an emphasis on somatics. Part I covers the basics of SEMG, including its history, advantages and disadvantages, anatomy and physiology, instrumentation, electrodes and site selection strategies, general assessment considerations, static assessment and clinical protocol, emotional assessment and clinical protocol, dynamic assessment, treatment considerations and protocols, and documentation. Each chapter ends with questions, the answers to which can be found in the back of the book. The book describes SEMG instrumentation very well, explaining the source of SEMG, impedance, differential amplification and common mode rejection, and filtering and quantification of the SEMG signal, and includes excellent figures of SEMG for each topic. The addition of a checklist for SEMG instruments is helpful for clinicians evaluating various SEMG models. The authors point out the importance of the reliability and validity of the data, noting "Inaccurate data are always worse than worthless, because the practitioner and the patient may draw conclusions from the data that are not warranted." The chapter on static/postural assessment using SEMG is excellent, with the authors suggesting different ways to treat muscles depending on the SEMG findings. However, the treatment interventions have no references and would have been strengthened by better research vs. clinical opinion. The electrode atlas, used to describe placement of electrodes in many muscle groups for SEMG, would be more helpful for clinicians if the validity and reliability data was included with each test.
Assessment: This is an extremely useful introduction to SEMG for clinicians. Advanced SEMG clinicians may find the instrumentation checklist and electrode atlas attractive. It is clearly written for all readers, despite the sophisticated subject matter. The electrode atlas, equipment checklist, SEMG examples, and references for more in-depth reading are invaluable. The second edition also offers expert opinion from these distinguished authors. I would highly recommend this book for all clinicians wanting a clear, concise book on SEMG.
Reviewer: Daryl Lawson, PT, DSc(Elon University)
Description: The cornerstone to this introduction to surface electromyography (SEMG) is the electrode atlas in part II, which will assist clinicians with where to place electrodes and what to expect to see at a given movement for a wide variety of muscle actions.
Purpose: "The purpose is to introduce the principles and practices of SEMG to clinicians wishing to use SEMG for patient or client care.
Audience: "This book is intended for beginners who would like to learn and use SEMG as well as advanced professionals who want to deepen their knowledge of SEMG. The audience includes physical therapists, occupational therapists, biofeedback trainers, behavioral medicine practitioners, psychologist, dentists, chiropractors, biomedical engineers, exercise physiologists, and complementary and alternative medicine practitioners. Although the book is most suitable for beginners, it is written well for all clinicians, and advanced SEMG clinicians may find the electrode atlas a very valuable resource. The two authors are distinguished in the field of SEMG, and John Basmjian, DC, MD, FRCP, FRCPS, considered the father of SEMG, contributed the foreword.
Features: "The 17 chapters in the second edition include 13 of the original chapters, the atlas, and the appendixes. Chapter 14, on the "Past, Present, and Future," has been rewritten to reflect progress in the field and new chapters by Jeffrey Cram, Maya Durie, Eleanor Criswell, and Marek Jantos have been added. This edition has an emphasis on somatics. Part I covers the basics of SEMG, including its history, advantages and disadvantages, anatomy and physiology, instrumentation, electrodes and site selection strategies, general assessment considerations, static assessment and clinical protocol, emotional assessment and clinical protocol, dynamic assessment, treatment considerations and protocols, and documentation. Each chapter ends with questions, the answers to which can be found in the back of the book. The book describes SEMG instrumentation very well, explaining the source of SEMG, impedance, differential amplification and common mode rejection, and filtering and quantification of the SEMG signal, and includes excellent figures of SEMG for each topic. The addition of a checklist for SEMG instruments is helpful for clinicians evaluating various SEMG models. The authors point out the importance of the reliability and validity of the data, noting "Inaccurate data are always worse than worthless, because the practitioner and the patient may draw conclusions from the data that are not warranted." The chapter on static/postural assessment using SEMG is excellent, with the authors suggesting different ways to treat muscles depending on the SEMG findings. However, the treatment interventions have no references and would have been strengthened by better research vs. clinical opinion. The electrode atlas, used to describe placement of electrodes in many muscle groups for SEMG, would be more helpful for clinicians if the validity and reliability data was included with each test.
Assessment: "This is an extremely useful introduction to SEMG for clinicians. Advanced SEMG clinicians may find the instrumentation checklist and electrode atlas attractive. It is clearly written for all readers, despite the sophisticated subject matter. The electrode atlas, equipment checklist, SEMG examples, and references for more in-depth reading are invaluable. The second edition also offers expert opinion from these distinguished authors. I would highly recommend this book for all clinicians wanting a clear, concise book on SEMG. "
