Sports injuries are very common among active people, whether they’re down to overuse, overtraining, poor posture and form, an accident during play or ineffective warm-ups and warm-downs.
One very common issue that athletes experience is damage to the calcified fibrocartilage connective tissue, which connects tendons to bones.
Damage to this tissue is very common among sportsmen and women and it often doesn’t mend particularly well – but now scientists from the University of Portsmouth have created a 3D map of how it responds to movement and exercise to improve healing treatments.
Lead author of the study, PhD student Atousa Moyaedi of the university’s School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering explained that once it’s clear which parts of the tendon experience the most stress and why, better treatments and implants can be designed to replicate how natural attachments work.
Up until now, it wasn’t possible to see how the tissue behaved under pressure, making it almost impossible to design effective treatments.
But now, with high resolution 3D scanning and AI powered image reconstruction, it’s possible to map how the tissue behaves, as well as how and where it might fall, and which features would be important for healing.
Professor Gordon Blunn oversaw the study and said: “The weak link in the way that load is transferred from muscle to the skeleton is where the tendon joins with the bone. After injury this region is slow to heal and difficult to repair.
“Importantly, Atousa’s work identifies the way that load is naturally transferred in this region and serves as a model for the repair and regeneration of tissues at this site.”
How can physio help with tendon injuries?
Seeing a physiotherapist can help if you have a tendon injury by:
– Reducing pain and swelling through manual therapy and soft tissue massage
– Guided exercise programmes as part of your recovery plan
– Eccentric exercises to promote healing and resilience
If you’d like to book an appointment, get in touch with the Clear Physio team today.
