The spondyloarthropathies are rheumatic disorders affecting one in a hundred of the population causing pain and restricted movement. The best known are ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis where inflammation of the spine and joints is common and all the bones in the spine may eventually fuse together. These diseases attack the sites where tendons and ligaments insert into bone, but the cause of these chronic disabling conditions is poorly understood. There is preliminary evidence that joint inflammation could be caused by microscopic tissue injury as a result of mechanical stress at and near the sites where tendons and ligaments insert into bone. This project will further explore why inflammation happens at these sites. If microscopic damage is proven it will increase our understanding and may indicate new treatments for these common and distressing conditions.