"Massage Therapy and Medications: General Treatment Principles" represents a landmark addition to the literature available to support high quality education and professional practice by massage therapists.

This book fills a vital need by providing massage therapists with important basic information on the properties, mechanisms of action, and side effects of common medications, as well as how their presence in the client's body may influence treatment results.

This book will help therapists to develop the skills to interpret and understand the package information of common drugs and to recognize those drug effects that can potentially influence a massage treatment. That information can then be interpreted as it applies to manual therapy, and used to adapt the treatment plan in an appropriate manner.

His discussion takes a complex subject and makes it easy to grasp and apply in clinical practice. He also provides the therapist with tools for better communication with doctors, pharmacists, and other health care professionals.

John Yates, PhD, Arizona

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After completing the Massage Therapy course at The West Coast College of Massage Therapy in 1998, and now currently undertaking a BSc. Honours degree in Osteopathic Medicine at the British Colleg of Osteopathic Medicine UK, I can honestly say that Randy has been one of my true inspirations throughout.

Randy has managed to achieve a fantastic goal in his book "Massage Therapy and Medications". Personally I have found it an invaluable aid in the differential diagnosis of a patient's condition. As well as being 'user friendly', Randy has covered his speciality thoroughly. This book has brought massage therapists a massive step closer towards understanding patients signs and symptoms when under the care of orthodox medicine. Thanks Randy! Don't forget...'take a step back!'........'.look at the big picture!'

Adam Ridgewell
London UK.

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"Massage Therapy & Medications" is an excellent contribution to the field of massage therapy. It provides an important missing link for therapists sorting through safe practice issues for various clients. Massage therapists, students, and educators all can benefit from a close reading of this book, and ongoing use of it as a reference.

It provides not only straightforward guidelines to follow but also principle-based guidance to the practitioner. It helps the practitioner think careful about medications, disease states and the potential impact of massage therapy against this backdrop. The text also contains key health history questions, lists side effects of common medications, and suggests massage adjustments in force for different scenarios.

Mr. Persad has given us a well-written accessible, clearly organized book; it is written in an easy, conversational, matter -of -fact style. This textbook is an important force in the profession of massage therapy and bodywork. It expands our critical thinking. It responds to the reality of our client base. It will help move the profession forward.

Tracy Walton
Academic Dean
Muscular Therapy Institute

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As a former nurse I know about the complex pharmaceutical regimes many patients are on. Since becoming a registered massage therapist it always alarmed me that my colleagues rarely had the knowledge to consider the effects of medications on the tissues. "Massage Therapy & Medications" is a book I wished for many times and I'm happy to say my colleagues are now clamoring to get copies.

Even though I felt I knew a lot about medications, because I've administered so many of them as a nurse, I still learned a tremendous amount from this book because it is written from the perspective of massage therapy. You won't find this information anywhere else. I've showed this book to physicians and nurses and I've discovered it is an excellent tool for educating them about what it is we really do with hands on care.

This book is bringing increased respect for the entire profession of massage therapy and for that I am grateful.

Isobel McDonald BA, BSN, RMT.
Vancouver, Canada

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As a practicing massage therapist I find this book very valuable. It has introduced me to the world of pharmaceuticals, and it is an important resource for therapists working in both the therapeutic and medical models of massage therapy.

In the ever-changing world of medicine, massage therapists need to be educated about how drugs work and the potential effects that they can have on the body. With this information we will be better able to care for our patients that regularly use drugs such as anti-inflammatories, anti-depressants or other medications that change the physiology of the body.

I found this book very educational and easy to understand. With the use of charts and diagrams, Randal Persad has done an excellent job in making the concepts understandable and useable. This book is full of information that makes it a must for every massage clinician and massage therapy clinic.

Lizette Tucker RMT
Vancouver, Canada