The first person I would like to thank is Jon Hutchings of Lotus Publishing. Once again I sincerely thank you for having the confidence in me to continue with the dream of writing, as without you all of my books, including this one, would not have been written and subsequently published. Thanks again, Jon, for having the faith in me to come up with the goods (so to speak). My thanks also to Ian Taylor, who spent a vast amount of time and effort taking and editing the photographs for this book, and to the copy-editor, Steve Brierley, without whose patience and input this book would definitely not read as well as it does!
I would like to include here my recognition of the outstanding work of four particular pioneers in this field of manual therapy—Andry Vleeming, Diane Lee, Philip Greenman, and Wolf Schamberger. Without the dedication and participation of these individual role models this book would not have been written, and for that I truly thank you all.
I am especially grateful to the musculoskeletal physiotherapist Gordon Bosworth, the person who guided me through my initial osteopathy training. Although I acknowledged him in my previous book, I have to include him here too, because the actual fine-tuning with regard to my assessment and treatment skills in the area of the pelvic girdle and SIJ is all down to Gordon. He made my learning and understanding of this fascinating but complex area a pleasure, and for that I thank him with all my heart. I do consider him to be one of the best physical therapists—if not the best—I have ever met. He was (and still is) an inspiration to me in becoming the person I am today—so thanks a million, Gordon, for all that effort. I hope mentoring me was as rewarding for you as it was for me!
For their inspiration and moral support during the creation of this book, I must thank my sister, Amanda Williams, her husband, Philip Williams, and their children, James and Victoria; and my mother, Margaret Gibbons. I also wish to thank my son, Thomas Rhys Gibbons, who was 14 at the time of writing, and to whom I dedicate this book. I’ve always said that Tom is my life—I hope that he can see the success that I have achieved and will be inspired to do the same (though not necessarily as a writer!). It gives me great pleasure to include this brief tribute to these much-loved people in my new book. My only regret is that my father, John Andrew Gibbons, is not here to see or read my books. I am sure, however, that he is looking down on us all with a smile on his face.
I always seem to acknowledge a person who has been in my life the longest (apart from family) at the end of this section. Maybe that’s just the way it is—you mention one of the most important people in your life at the end. That person is my fiancée, Denise Thomas; we have been together seven years at the time of writing of this book and I must say I have had the most amazing time with her. Thanks for being the model in the photographs, and thanks a million for all your support.
John Gibbons