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

The Structure of Bone

Bone is one of the body.s connective tissue and its cells produce a firm and rigid framework to make the skeleton of the body. It has a good blood supply and is surrounded by nerve endings which are mostly in the soft tissues which enclose the bone. Two types of bone exist, cortical bone which exists in solid masses or sheets and trabecular bone which is a lattice like honeycomb of small bone struts. The mass of bone secreted is five to eight percent water and 60-70 percent Hydroxyapatite, which is composed mostly of calcium and phosphate. The rest of the bone is made up of collagen, a form of fibrous tissue.

The crystals of Hydroxyapatite mean that bone is hard and can withstand compressive stresses while the fibrous tissue reduced the brittleness and resists tension stresses. Bone is laid down in an arrangement of concentric cylinders with a central channel carrying the blood vessels and nerves. The osteocytes or bone maintaining cells lie between the layers of bone. The whole unit of the individual cylinder is known as a Haversian system or an osteon. The periosteum covers the outer surface of the bone, with a tougher outer layer and a cellular inner layer.

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.