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video reviews Functional Kinetics Therapeutic exercises 1 edited by Susanne Klein- Vogelbach. Springer- Verlag, Heidelberg, 1995 (ISBN 3 540 92622 4). 55 mins. f53.55.

This is an instructional video and accompanies Susan Klein-Vogel- bach’s book on the subject of functional kinetics, entitled Ther- apeutic Exercises in Functional Kinetics (Springer-Verlag, ISBN 3 540 52731 1). Susanne Klein- Vogelbach was a Swiss physio- therapist who, over more than fifty years, developed a system of observing, analysing and teaching human movement. The Klein-Vogel- bach concept is well known and has a wide following in Continental Europe, especially in German speaking countries.

The first text appeared in 1976 but was not published in English until 1990. I t is ironic that language barriers have kept the Klein-Vogel- bach concept from reaching a wider audience, when the subject of human movement transcends all geographical and linguistic bound- aries.

The presentation of this material in video format is an obvious step for such a dynamic subject. The therapeutic exercises featured have many applications in the man- agement of a wide spectrum of musculoskeletal disorders.

This video covers three of the author’s ‘core’ exercises. These are the ‘frogs’, the ‘all-four exercises’ and the ‘functional training of rotation’. A feature of the concept is the somewhat eccentric naming of some exercises and positions such as ‘turn again Whittington’ and the ‘dreaming traffic policeman’.

Each of these exercise sets has a number of variations and all are clearly and meticulously demon- strated with still pictures and video footage of the entire exercises. These are interspersed with capt- ions which outline the objectives of the exercises and others which indicate the types of disorders for which the exercises can be used.

The greatest detail is given to the actual teaching of the exercises.

Susanne Klein-Vogelbach’s hand- ling of the ‘patient’ is masterful and is testament of a lifetime devoted to her subject.

Susanne Klein-Vogelbach first started to formulate her approach to functional kinetics through her observations, when she was a teacher of gymnastics. The result is a concept which comprehensively deals with the complexities of ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ human movement and which should be of value to all physiotherapists who deal with musuloskeletal disorders.

This video and its accompanying book should have a wide appeal, given the current level of interest in concepts of ‘muscle imbalance’ and in the use of trunk muscle re-educa- tion in the treatment of vertebral disorders.

Although this video is described by the publisher as being comple- mentary to the previously ment- ioned book, I would view it as being an essential adjunct to the text, because of the dynamic and complex nature of the subject.

The translation of the work of Susanne Klein-Vogelbach into the English language and particularly the presentation of her work in video format will hopefully bring her concept to a wider audience.

Philip Newton MCSP

Assessment and Diagnosis of Pathologies in Sprinters Continuing Education for Professionals, PO Box 363, Mona Vale, NSW 2103, Australia. 67 min. A$45.

This video seems to be a virtually uncut recording of a lecture presented by Graham Vankan, past president of the Australian Sports Physiotherapy Association, a t the annual conference of the NSW Sports Physiotherapy Group, Summer Sports Symposium 1995. You have all the benefits of taking the information provided a t your own pace and having the ideal position throughout.

However, the video suffers from being poorly edited and is quite roughly produced. You endure some of the pregnant pauses occasionally associated with lectures. The actual quality of the photography and sound recording could have been better.

Graham has a typically southern hemisphere relaxed attitude to his presentation, which overall is presented with an obvious depth of clinical experience as well as some personal research on the topic.

The entire lecture is drawn from the speaker’s own wealth of knowledge of the problems facing the analysis of sprinting and as such there are many very interesting points highlighted t o do with video analysis skills and biomechanical assessment.

The main thrust of his discussion is on the stability of the pelvis and on the pathologies affecting sprinters and the forces encoun- tered within the kinetic chain. Quite clearly this is not a blink- ered approach but an angle chosen for the talk.

I would have appreciated some supporting views of other research to emphasise the strength of his arguments. He covers quite super- ficially knee and foot mechanics, in particular the common findings with sprinters of a rigid foot type and tight Achilles tendons.

There is good use of slide and video skills to show various faults and corrective approaches to the management of typical presenta- tions. It may seem a recipe approach but I doubt if this is the case.

He has an interesting technique for improving internal rotation with mechanical traction, which those seat belt ‘techniquers’ among us would enjoy or cringe at!

I would find this a useful tool for helping undergraduates learn about functional biomechanics in the clin- ical setting and as such it would be a good universitylout-patient library addition.

Alan Leigh MSc(Manip Ther) MCSP GDMT(NZ) MACP

Physiotherapy, December 1997, vol83, no 12