Background Electrotherapy or more properly Electrophysical Agents (EPAs) is a key clinical area for practising physiotherapists and is broken down as follows:
- Electrotherapy Modalities - Ultrasound; Interferential Therapy; Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS); Pulsed Shortwave Therapy; Laser Therapy; Combination Therapy; Biofeedback; Microcurrent Therapy; Magnetic Therapy; Electrical Stimulation for Wound Healing; Iontophoresis; Russian Stimulation; Shockwave Therapies; Diadynamic Therapy; Contraindications
- Physical Agents: Heat; Cold; Bracing; Taping; Splinting
- Tissue Repair - NSAID's and Repair
The UK programme already has 2 key successful textbooks on "Electrotherapy" (by Watson himself, formerly Kitchen and by Robertson, formerly Low & Reed) and one recent practical reference (by Fox & Sharp) which has not been received well in the marketplace. These current texts focus on a modality based approach - chapters on ultrasound, TENS, heat therapy etc. This is fine as an initial or core text but in clinical practice, decisions are not made starting with a modality and then deciding what to do - the clinician or student on clinical placement starts with the patient and their presenting issues, and starts to make treatment decisions from there.
Rationale There have been concerns about electrotherapy as a subject within the UK physiotherapy portfolio especially in light of the under performing reference title - Practical Electrotherapy (2007) by Fox & Sharp which is due to go out of print [please refer to ES Internal Competition overview]. Nevertheless the 2 textbooks are still performing well, especially the new 12th edition of Electrotherapy (2008) edited by Watson. Both texts are headed by 2 internationally prominent teachers and researchers in the electrophysical field and significantly Watson will be authoring this proposed book. This gives us the opportunity to build upon one of the parent textbooks Electrotherapy using the "Watson" brand. This handbook will be natural progression from the textbook - the reader will gain background information from the textbook and then move on to the handbook which will then guide them in practice. Furthermore, as stated above there is currently no text available which is ISSUES driven and EVIDENCED related to EPAs.
From Watson's and my market investigations, practitioners would rather have a handy book which focuses on clinical problems/issues - length is not an issue SO LONG as it contains enough evidenced information. Watson has mentioned this concept at many of the courses he teaches, and he says it generates a "buzz in the room" - and this together with numerous conversations with practitioners and students shows that there is a demand but there is nothing to fill the void - the competition is almost exclusively modality based other than one US text which is out of date and held in very low esteem by practitioners in the UK, Australia and most of Europe.
The main point of the proposed title is that it will be accessible, evidence based and easy to apply in the clinical setting. It is not a replacement for a core text but a clinically usefully aide. Practitioners from many professions (not just Physiotherapy) use various electrophysical agents, and in fact the relative use amongst non-physiotherapists is increasing ensuring a good secondary market base. Some of these practitioners have minimal training in the use of electrotherapy, thus increasing the appeal of a reference for the busy clinician or harassed student.
Description [please also refer to contents list] Existing books on EPAs focus on explanations of how an EPA affects the body and current laboratory and clinical research knowledge of its effectiveness, e.g. Robertson and Watson above. The proposed handbook will assume that clinicians know the basic biophysics of each EPA and concepts such as frequency and pulse duration.
The primary aim of the handbook is to use the commonly encountered clinical symptoms or problems and to identify, in a short but evidenced fashion, what the current evidence would have to say about the selection of EPAs (electrotherapy modalities) which one to chose and when for which problem. It will not replicate the theoretical material already available in the other standard texts - this is a book to help problem based clinical decision making. Essential references will be provided together with X links to the main texts. To reiterate this is a practical handbook as opposed to a classic textbook.
What is Unique/Special About This Book? The proposed book will have a very distinct style for a book on EPAs. It will provide brief notes in a form that can be easily read and accessed by clinicians. To this end it will be in a handbook format.
Each chapter will include 'key issues' boxes and importantly a summary table for the Ranked Evidence for the issue/condition - this will enable the reader to ascertain at a glance which are the most effective and best evidenced modalities. The evidence table will include 2, maybe three components: Animal/Lab studies, Clinical Studies, Accepted practice, anecdotal evidence.
What is Unique about the Author's Qualifications? Professor Tim Watson is a world renowned teacher and researcher based at the University of Hertfordshire. He has recently taken over the editorship from Sheila Kitchen for the 12th edition of Electrotherapy: evidence-based practice. He runs his own website Electrotherapy on the Web (www.electrotherapy.org).
NOTE: This proposal has been internally handed over by the Australian office where Tim Watson was originally co-author with Val Robertson (Australian-based editor of the other textbook within the UK physiotherapy portfolio). The proposal was approved by the Australian publishing committee under the title Practical Electrotherapy Explained (9780729538947). Val Robertson pulled out of her agreement leaving Tim Watson sole author who then wanted to transfer over to the UK office. Subsequently, the original proposal was reviewed and amended, ensuring that it fit in within the list architecture of the UK physiotherapy programme. He will take it to another publisher if we do not publish - Elsevier are his first choice!
