Physiotherapists in Shaftesbury treat many different conditions including the issues profiled below.

Knee Ligament Injuries

Knee injuries are extremely common and a routine part of sporting activities of many kinds, especially in younger people. The knee is a large hinge type of joint connected by powerful ligaments but because of the joint.s position in the middle of a long lever (the leg) it is vulnerable to high levels of force during movement. Physiotherapists routinely diagnose and treat ligamentous injuries and rehabilitate patients back to their functional goal. A common injury is a strain of the medial collateral ligament when a force is applied to the outside of the knee when the foot is on the ground, pushing the knee inwards and opening out the joint on the inside.

Typically the knee will swell over the next 12 hours or so and be painful over the inside of the joint, sometimes making it difficult to walk easily. Treatment is to immobilise the knee in a brace or plaster of Paris for a shorter or longer period of time, then get the knee moving so that it does not lose range of movement. The ligament is under tension when the knee is straight so the physio will concentrate on restoring the ability of the muscles to fully extend the knee.

Damage To The Spine By Bending Forward

Injuries sustained in bending occur when the forces involved exceed the coping capacity of the tissues of the spinal structures. The movements of the lumbar spinal bones in a living person undergoing a rapid forward bend are controlled mostly by the strength and length of the disc and ligamentous tissues. Initial damage occurs to the more superficial ligaments which connect the spines of the individual vertebrae posteriorly and if some side bending or twisting motion is added then the capsules of the facet joints can be stretched to their limits. The rear part of the disc wall may act like a ligament in extreme bend, restricting further bending.

In slower bending where a position is held for a time the resistance of the spinal tissues to bending decreases, allowing greater movements between the vertebrae and a slow change in the internal disc alignment. Due to the mechanical properties of the tissues quick movements have an increased likelihood of damaging the ligaments and discs, while holding the spine in flexion for some time may both reduce the protection activity of the back muscles and the ability of the ligaments to protect the lumbar segments as they move.