"I was introduced to the Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy In the mid- 80s when I first studied massage. In 1993 when I began classes at the massage school I opened in Baton Rouge, I adopted this book for use in both our Anatomy and Physiology segment and our Deep Tissue course. I found the format and drawings easy to comprehend for entry level students and the comments and features printed at the bottom of many of the pages very helpful. We used overheads from the book as visuals, and suggested the students copy the text materials (i.e., " origin, insertions, action, etc.") onto 3 x 5 cards to study with. We also found some students used the text as a coloring book.
I recently got to meet Kay Walker (AKA Kay Sieg ) at the AMTA National Convention in Albuquerque and suggested a couple of small intrinsic muscles which are often taught in NMT or clinical massage classes which were not included in the text. She recently contacted me to let me know they will be included in the next edition to be published. How great to be responded to so quickly!! I hope the new owners of my school (which was sold in 2004) will continue to use this versatile text in their curriculum. And I highly recommend this text to school owners/education directors of massage programs."
Kathie Lea, BA, LMT, NCBTMB, CNMT
Instructor, Blue Cliff College, Baton Rouge
Former owner and director, Massage Therapy College of Baton Rouge
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"I I have been using the Sieg and Adams book in my teaching in my Kinesiology course for more that 10 years and I have found it to be an essential tool in facilitating my students' learning of muscles' anatomy, innervations and functions. I have also been using it in my muscle testing and sensibility testing labs.
The bulk of my teaching in my course consist of active learning sessions where students go from one workstation to the next, exploring various models and answering questions on their worksheets. Students have found the book to be their best, clearest and most concise resource in answering questions and learning the material. The fact that muscles are pictured both independently from one another and then together by function, is instrumental in helping students progress from a focus on anatomy to a grasp of the basis of motion analysis and provides an important resource for students' activity analysis assignments. Students also use the book when learning about muscle testing to help them visualize the best location for palpation.
The book is also strong in its clear depiction of innervations. The listing and depiction of both spinal level and peripheral nerve innervations for each muscle allows the student to more easily understand the loss of function following injury, and is a key resource in helping students complete one of my assignments on consequences of neural injury on function. The drawing of skin areas each nerve innervates, is a feature that I use in my teaching of sensory testing.
Students have told me over the years that they appreciate the book's portability and ring binding, allowing it to stay open to the page of interest. They also like the fact that the pictures are stylized, which allows them to color in and add special markings, helping them to remember the different components of features such as bones, the plexus or the anatomy of the hand. They also find the study cards that are an optional addition to the book to be a very helpful aid in their memorization of the material.
By offering a skilled and elegant balance between detail and simplicity, this book has been an essential element in my teaching effectiveness for my kinesiology course and I could not recommend it more highly."
Catherine N. Sullivan, Ph.D., OTR
Assistant Professor
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
College of St. Catherine
St. Paul, Minnesota
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"This book has been a stable book in the PTA Program at Colby Community College since it was first published in 1977. This is close to the start of this program which was in 1973. This book has survived through five director changes which speaks highly of the quality of this publication. My experience is that frequently new directors bring their own books and ideas
to a program.
Currently we use this book as the 'expert or final' source for all muscle origins, insertions, actions and innervations. The students are required to know most of the book by memory throughout the year in our program. With just one source there is no question about what is correct or what is expected in knowledge. This book has straightforward and simple wording with easy to follow diagrams. The hints and notations at the bottom of the pages truly help students remember and retain information. They are also a good adjunct to lecture over function of muscles.
The single muscle pictures are another great enhancement in the learning process. Many students have a need for visual learning and utilize the pictures to trigger their memory of the required muscle information. The combined functional approach of muscle and nerve at the end of each limb section is a great resource for several classes and especially for retention of information.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a single source for muscle information and functional unit information related to muscles. Please keep up the good work and the excellent quality as you continue to add to this book."
Pat Erickson, PT, DPT
Director of PTA Program
Colby Community College
Colby, KS
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