Home
Up
Laura's Library
Mike's Book List
Other Books
|
 |
Mike Uggen's Book Recommendations
for People with EDS
|
 |
Michael W. Uggen, LMP is a licensed massage
practitioner with advanced training in numerous massage modalities and
energy techniques. He is a regular participant on the
CEDA EDS Email
list and has Hypermobile type EDS himself. As requested by the
members of the CEDA
list, Mike has compiled a list of books he believes people with EDS should
have.
Mike also has
his own website.
Click here for Mike's column on
Massage Therapy for EDS
|
|
Michael W. Uggen, LMP |
|
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the
author and are not to be construed as an endorsement by EDS Today. Always
consult your physician before trying any alternative therapy option. |
Quick Links
There are some books that I feel every one of you should have, period. There
are others that I recommend for specific situations or conditions. And there
are still others that I am going to recommend as good ones to have for reference
or general background.
Word of warning right up front - this is a long posting. I am not
comfortable with just slapping together a list with nothing on it but titles,
authors and current retail prices. In addition to the actual list on the
left, I am giving varying levels of review on my specific recommendations. I
am not just making recommendations - I am telling you WHY I am making them. If
you don't feel like wading through the verbiage, just use the
Quick Links to jump to a particular section. But I don't recommend that you do that because I
tossed in some side discussions on things along the way.
With two exceptions, they are ALL books that I own personally, use and can
endorse with comfort. And in many cases the titles will be familiar to
some of you
because I have used them to address questions on the CEDA list.
Any purchases made
through the links on this site will automatically generate a commission from
Amazon to EDS Today.
For those of you familiar with EDS Today, you already know that they are doing
an outstanding job. This is one way you can help them raise necessary operating
funds and I urge you to consider doing it that way. As info, just in working up
this recommendation list, I tumbled on to four books through Amazon myself that
I just couldn't live without and HAD to have in my library. I ordered them
through EDS Today myself. At least one of them has broad potential significance
for the list. After I get it and if my expectations pan out, I will do a
separate review and add it to my list.
| Book |
Comments |
|
|
The number one book on my recommendation
list, bar none, is a fairly current copy of the Physician's Desk
Reference. This is the bible for finding out for yourself what your
Doctor or Pharmacist fails to tell you about the meds you are taking. The
level of detail far surpasses any information sheet you are going to be
given by either of them. Amazon sells them new for about $93 or used for
about $35. I have also been able to find brand new, unopened, boxed
copies of the previous edition at Half Price books for about $20. For the
most part, a copy within the last couple of years is adequate. The
exception is if you are taking a recently released medication that might
not be listed in an older edition. But everything I have read is that you
would be well advised to not take anything until it has been on the open
market for at least six months to a year, and preferably two years, to
give enough time to shake out any adverse side effects.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
|
|
A
second choice would be "Drug Facts and Comparisons." The 2004 edition runs
about $69 new or $60 used for the paperbook version. The hardcover version
runs $205 new or $125 used. Amazon also lists an abridged 2003 edition for
as little as $6. This is similar in format to the PDR. I have copies of
both and prefer the PDR. But whichever I am using, I have them to have
access to the full, detailed information. An abridged version seems to be
defeating the purpose. Either they are leaving a lot of drugs out, or a
lot of information on the drugs they do list.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
The second most critical book would be a good drug interaction
guide. This is important because drugs interact with more than each
other. They also interact with foods, herbs, and nutritional
supplements. You can also get distinctly different results
depending on the time of day you take the medications. This is
sometimes observed and noted in the clinical trials prior to
approval and release by the FDA. What they generally fail to take
into account, however, is that this is one of the underlying
principles of traditional Chinese medicine. Each of the meridians
has a high and a low point in a 24 hour cycle, 12 hours apart.
Chinese medicine uses this cycle partly as a diagnostic tool (what
is the body doing at different times of the day) and in treatment.
As an example, if there is a deficiency in the Kidney meridian,
treatment would suggest that actions to strengthen that meridian
would be most effective when that meridian was at its most active
time.
Two books that I particularly like are by the same author: H. Winter
Griffith, M.D. One is "Complete Guide to Prescription and Non-Prescription Drugs." The other is "Complete Guide to Vitamins,
Minerals and Supplements." These run about $18 new to as little as
$1 used through Amazon. They don't give the detail about the drugs
that the PDR does, but they have a superior section covering
interactions with other drugs or substances.
Two others that I am going to mention are "Dangerous Drug
Interactions" by Teresa Graedon and the "Drug Interaction Fact Book
2004" by David S. Tatro. I do not have either of these in my
possession so am going to withhold comment other than mentioning
them. I will have them soon, however, since these are two of the
four I ordered. After I get a chance to look at them, I will make
comments as appropriate in a later post.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you are fortunate, all of your
doctors will treat you with
respect and fully answer all of your questions in language easy for
you to understand. But if you are like most of us, you will run into one
who does not give you all the information you need. For those situations,
there are some reference books that are handy to have around.
One is "Complete Guide to Symptoms, Illness and Injury," also by H.
Winter Griffith.
Return to Quick Links
|
|
|
Another good one is "The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of
Medicine." There are others out there, in fact several different
ones. The main point is that you should have a GOOD general medical
reference on hand for quick review as well as a good First Aid manual.
Return to Quick Links
|
|
|
Considering the wide range of symptoms and complications presented
by EDS, I would recommend both a good anatomy book and one covering
kinesiology. There are numerous books on anatomy - too many to
list - but three of the best are ones used in Med schools. These
are "Clementine's", "Grants Dissector" and Netter's "Atlas of Human
Anatomy." I have copies of both Grant's and Netter. I don't have
Clementine only because I don't need all three. Of the three, I
have read the best reviews about Netter and do prefer it over the
others. But any of them are good.
The difference between an anatomy book and one on kinesiology is
that the anatomy book just shows you the diagrams and pictures of
the various organs, bones, muscles, nerves, vessels, etc. A
kinesiology book is going to give you similar information (but not
in the same detail), but will take it a step beyond by explaining
how the muscles, ligaments and tendons function to allow the body to
move. How many of you in the past have been told something
like "you have a rotator cuff problem" without at the same time
being told exactly what the rotator cuff is, what it does, and how
it functions? Just as with anatomy, there are too many kinesiology
books to list. The one I personally use is the one we had in
school "Trail Guide to the Body" by Andrew Biel. Aside from the
fact that it was a required text and I would have it for no other
reason, it is very well written with excellent illustrations. It
does a good job of explaining how the various muscles, etc.
function. There are Editions 1 and 2 available. Edition 2 has
superior illustrations.
Return to Quick Links
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now on to some specific areas.
I am going to start with acupressure only because there has been
quite a bit of recent list activity on it. Hands down, my number
one choice is "Acupressure's Potent Points" by Michael Reed Gach. I
do not recommend this one just because I happen to be familiar with
it. I have over two dozen books in my library on acupuncture and
acupressure. If I could only have one, this would be it. It is
detailed, well written, with excellent illustrations and photos for
point location, and is user friendly. It is not all encompassing.
I have other books that list different points for the same
conditions, or address conditions that Gach doesn't cover. I also
have a copy of "A Manual of Acupuncture" by Peter Deadman which is
considered to be the most detailed, thorough book in English on the
subject ever written. But if I had to make a choice, I would still
go with Gach if I could only have one. I think that highly of it.
Gach is the book that opened my eyes to other realities and started
me down the energy trail. My introduction to acupressure was self-taught using Gach. Once I started getting results with it, I had
what can best be described as an epiphany " a sudden flash of
recognition." Basically, on a sliding scale of Eastern tradition,
if acupressure clearly worked and I could accept the reality of
that, how could I then reject out of hand everything else that went
with it? Once I made that mental leap, all kinds of interesting
things started to happen with my "bodywork."
At any rate, Gach is my first choice, but I am going to mention two
others as well. The first is "Tsubo - Vital Points for Oriental
Therapy" by Katsusuke Serizawa. The other is "Jin Shin Do - Way of
Health" by Iona Teequarden. The Tsubo book is also a good
introductory level text. It compliments Gach very well in that
Serizawa often lists conditions that Gach doesn't or other points
for similar conditions. He also gets just a bit deeper into some of
the underlying basis or principles of acupressure than Gach. Gach
is more of a straight technical manual where Serizawa combines more
theory with the basic techniques.
The Jin Shin Do book takes it all to an entirely different level. I
can best describe it as an introductory text for advanced
acupressure. It starts at a level where Gach and Serizawa leave
off. I do not mean that it is so far beyond the other two that
someone can't just start with it because they can. But the approach
is different and there is considerably more theory involved.
Probably the biggest difference is in how the points are actually
manipulated. Gach and Serizawa focus on individual points. They
may list several points for treating a specific condition, but the
focus is working the points individually. With Jin Shin Do, we
ALWAYS work two points simultaneously. The other critical
distinction is that Jin Shin Do not only recognizes but uses what
are known as the Eight Extraordinary Vessels or Meridians. Most
texts just refer to the standard 14 meridians. There are 12 paired
meridians in that they are on both sides of the body: Lung, Large
Intestine, Spleen, Triple Warmer, Stomach, Small Intestine, Heart,
Kidney, Pericardium, Bladder, Gall Bladder and Liver. There are two
others, one on the front of the body (Conception Vessel) and one on
the back (Governing Vessel). These two basically run up and down
the center line of the body. The Extraordinary Vessels interact
with all of the other meridians. Like I said, most texts just
ignore them but they are one of the key elements of Jin Shin Do that
in my opinion makes it so incredibly effective.
While I am on a discussion of acupressure - any of you know anybody
with body piercings? Such as naval, lip or tongue studs? Studs
that just happen to be on the body's mid-line? Anybody who just
might be having difficulties with undiagnosed complaints? Well,
those studs are typically put right smack into the Conception Vessel
and it quite commonly messes up their energetics. Have them take
the studs out for a couple of days and see what happens. The
recommendation I have been told by instructors is that if people are
going to insist on getting them, they should at least try to get
them positioned slightly off-center.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A couple of
conditions that seem to arise with all too much
regularity along with EDS are Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain
Syndrome. The best book I know on the subject is "Fibromyalgia and
Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome" by Devin Starlanyl and Mary Ellen
Copeland. Starlanyl is not only a doctor, she has Fibromyalgia
herself. This has Editions 1 and 2 also. Both are good but 2 has a
lot more in it. The other one I recommend is "Fibromyalgia and
Muscle Pain" by Leon Chaitow. He is a Naturopath and Osteopath,
practicing in the UK. He is also one of the most highly respected
professionals in the entire field of bodywork and
alternative/complimentary therapies.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
|
|
I also see repeated references to Scoliosis. An excellent book that
discusses causes and treatments is "Scoliosis Diagnosis and
Management" by Rene Caillet.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
For Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome, I would recommend "Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" by Sharon
Butler.
Return to Quick
Links |
|
|
You keep hearing terms like Myofascial Pain as a condition or
Myofascial Release as a treatment modality. If you want to learn
more about what fascia actually is, what it does, and how it affects
the body, I highly recommend "The Endless Web" by Louis Schultz and
Rosemary Feitis. Without going into a lot of detail here, I will
simply say that fascia IS the body's connective tissue. It can vary
in texture from clear, almost watery, over the eyes to solid gristle
at the low back where it forms the Thoracolumbar Aponeurosis. It is
the tissue that becomes a tendon at the end of the muscle. It
interweaves and wraps every organ, fiber and cell in the body in one
continuous sheet and ultimately is the tissue by which we are able
to stand upright. Without it, our skeletons would just collapse in
a jumbled heap on the floor. Current research also suggests that it
is the carrier for the traditional Chinese energy meridians.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
From a bodywork modality/treatment perspective, there are a couple
that I find particularly useful. I have quoted passages from both
from time to time for list postings. One is "A Massage Therapist's
Guide to Pathology" by Ruth Werner. The other is "Massage Therapy -
An Approach to Treatments" by Fiona Rattrary.
Return to Quick Links |
|
|
And finally, I would like to add one specifically on energy work.
For Western trained and oriented minds, this can be a difficult
concept to understand or accept. To an unfortunate degree, there
will always be those skeptics who will remain unconvinced,
regardless of the body of evidence or scientific research that
supports and validates the reality. And believe me, the research
has been done and there is more than ample scientific evidence out
there. The absolute best book that discusses that research and
explains the underlying SCIENCE for energy work and WHY it works
is "Energy Medicine - The Scientific Basis" by James Oschman. It is
fascinating reading.
Return to
Quick Links |
|
|
Return to
Quick Links |
|
 |
 Mike's Book List:
Licensed Massage Practitioner, Mike Uggen has compiled a list of books
for people with EDS. |
| USA Subscriptions $10 |
|
|
Overseas Subscriptions $15 |
|
|
Buy current issue $5 |
|
|
