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Rheumatology Vol. 44 No. 2 © British Society for Rheumatology 2005; all rights reserved
BOOK REVIEW |
It's Not Just Growing Pains: A Guide to Childhood Muscle, Bone and Joint Pain, Rheumatic Diseases and the Latest Treatments. By T. J. A. Lehman. £18.87. Oxford University Press, USA, 2004. 418 pp. ISBN 0 1951 57281
Muscle, bone or joint pain is one of the most frequent complains in childhood and needs the expertise of specialized doctors. The cause of this pain can be very different from other kinds of pain, and in the beginning the parent and child are often very worried about its nature, especially when the doctor cannot find a somatic cause, the parents and the child have difficulty in accepting that pain can be caused by psychosomatic problems. But also in the case of a somatic disease, such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis, the parents and child may be concerned about a disease that is unknown to them.
For parents and older children who have muscle, bone or joint pain, this book will help them to understand the nature of the child's disease. The book is a comprehensive guide not only for parents and older children, but also for caregivers such as physical therapists, psychologists and other persons dealing with children with rheumatic diseases and other conditions that cause pain in bones, muscles and joints.
The writer, Tom Lehman, is a very experienced and compassionate paediatric rheumatologist, and this is evident on every page of the book. Especially for rheumatic diseases, this book is of great value. This book explains illnesses, diagnostic tools, therapies and the disease course in a very clear and easy-to-read manner. It is a pleasure to read the book, although I hope that the next edition will include more clinical pictures to support the text. The reader will find a lot of information in this book, and paediatricians and (paediatric) rheumatologists can also learn from an expert as experienced as Tom Lehman. Now and then your opinion about certain diseases and therapies may differ from what this book says, but in general the book represents the general vision of paediatric rheumatologists about the way rheumatic diseases should be handled. The book not only describes rheumatic diseases in childhood, but also other painful conditions of the bones, muscles and joints. However, missed an epidemiological chapter. It is important that the reader realizes that psychosomatic problems form the basis of many pain complaints. To reassure parents that pain is mostly not caused by serious illness should also be one of the aims of this book. The focus in this book is especially on somatic illnesses, and in Chapter 19, ‘Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome’, the author stresses the importance of a complete medical evaluation. On the other hand, we know that the insecurity of parents and child can increase if a doctor keeps searching for a somatic explanation for a psychosomatic illness. But these are only minor criticisms.
I should advise everyone to read this book, because in it you will find a lot of practical advice. It will help the parents and the child to understand better the nature of the child's illness and to ask the relevant questions of the caregiver. This book will also help the doctor in communicating aspects of the disease to the parents and their child.
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