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

Knee Cartilage Injuries

The knee cartilages are properly known as menisci and are almost circular cartilaginous structures which look like banked tracks, sitting between the flat upper surfaces of the tibia and the large rounded condyles of the lower end of the femur. Their function is not entirely understood but may be to guide the femoral condyles as they slide and glide, to distribute synovial fluid evenly around the knee or to give sensory feedback about the complex positions adopted by the knee at any moment. The menisci are vulnerable at times as the large femoral condyles can roll over them and being attached to the tibial upper surface they cannot always move out of the way.

This can result in the meniscus suffering compressive forces applied by the condyle and becoming injured in the process. Tears of the menisci are common injuries and occur in various patterns, common examples being a parrot beak tear and a bucket handle tear. The parrot beak is a small tear at the edge which then appears like a bird.s beak. If the tear is along the substance of the meniscus it can cause a loop with attachments at both ends, like a bucket handle.

Discs and Height

Physical activities change the nature of the intervertebral discs throughout the day and night. The volume and the height of discs can change by up to twenty percent, with a person.s height varying by anything from fifteen to twenty five millimetres. Most of the change in height happens during the first hour after getting up as the body weight loading is applied to the spine. During the night the opposite happens with the disc being unloaded so it sucks in water from the tissue around it until it reaches a balance of pressures on both sides.

This daily cycle of pressure variation changes the water content of the disc regularly and may be part of the explanation as to why back pain sufferers have more pain in the mornings due to the increased tension present in the disc complex. Resting or performing heavy work can cause changes in the hydration of the disc, carrying a twenty kilogram backpack for three hours has been shown to reduce the volume of the discs by 4.5 percent. The amount of water content in the disc does not achieve a specific resting level; it depends on how much loading is going on and for how long.