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

Ligament-Bone and Tendon-Bone Conditions - Bone Formation

The behaviour of the bone around the joint varies in differing arthritic conditions. In rheumatoid arthritis the inflammatory joint condition is linked with loss of bone and this contributes to the damage to the joint and the disability which ensues. However, in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) the inflammation is accompanied by the formation of new bone at the inflamed sites. This new bone forms at each insertion site, growing together in the spine to form bony bridges across the vertebrae, stiffening the spine in a poor position in some cases which can cause significant disability. Since inflammation usually breaks bone down this is difficult to understand.

New bone typically forms at normal ligament or tendon insertions as we get older, but in arthritis the inflammatory phase which erodes bone does settle and then bony spurs can form as the bone laying down phase occurs next in time. In the case of AS, if a bony formation phase follows the inflammatory phase, then suppressing the inflammatory phase with medication might accelerate the bony formation process, increasing the disability. AS patients may continue to fuse their joints even in the presence of new biological treatments but they may be shown to inhibit bone formation at the insertions and thereby reduce disability.

Physiotherapy Ultrasound

Ultrasound therapy is one of the large number of treatment techniques available to physiotherapists in treating the variety of conditions their patients present with. The frequencies used are in the range of 0.8 to 3.0 Megahertz, with a metal head used to generate the ultrasonic waves and ultrasound gel used between the skin and the head to facilitate transmission. A crystal in the head generates the waves by high frequency vibration and the waves pass through the gel and into the patient.s tissues to cause their effects. A local deep heating effect can be generated but this is typically not desirable so the machine head is kept moving and the settings may be set to pulsed mode so the beam of ultrasound is not continuous. This allows cooling and prevents heat build-up.

The effects of ultrasound can be many, including increasing the local blood flow, breaking down scar tissue or inhibiting its formation, a reduction in local swelling and inflammation. The physiotherapist will determine the size of the area to be treated and its tissue depth, choosing the size of machine head and the frequency and pulsed mode as appropriate. Higher doses and longer times are used for more chronic cases with the reverse for acute inflammatory conditions.