The body’s anatomy is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? It’s a wonder to watch how every area works in conjunction with another to carry out its functions. In fact, a quick look at how joints work can be quite fascinating.
Joints are found anywhere where two bones meet. All the bones in the body except the hyoid bone (in the neck) forms a joint with another bone. There are three types of joints including fibrous (immoveable), cartilaginous (slightly moveable) and synovial(freely moveable). If you look at the skeleton, you’ll see that joints not only bind the body together, they also give structure and allow muscles to move so the bones can perform various tasks like grasping, running and reaching. But overtime, all these activities can slow down due to aging, which is a natural process that the body has to go through. So if you do not maintain healthy joints, then the process of aging on the joints can affect your posture, walk and may lead to weakness and slow movement as the integrity of the joint is compromised.
Changes with Aging
Aging results in loss of bone mass or density, especially in females after menopause due to the loss of calcium and other minerals. Between each bone is a gel-like fluid and over the years, the bones of the spine (vertebrae) lose this fluid and mineral content and become thin. This results in the spinal column becoming curved and compressed resulting in change of posture. This process occurs at an earlier stage in men than women. As the long bones of the body lose bone density, they become more brittle and easily fractured. The reduction in the fluid at each joint space results in decrease flexibility hence stiffness at various joints. This is as a result of the cartilage rubbing together then wearing away and the deposits of mineral around some joints result in calcification. There may be degeneration of the bones in different areas of the body, while some may be inherited some are due to the natural process of aging.
The changes that occur with aging results in bones being brittle and may break more easily. There may be decrease of the trunk hence overall height may decrease. As the joints are broken down this may lead to inflammation, pain, stiffness and deformity. The posture becomes more bent and the knees and hips become more flexed, movement slows and becomes more limited.
Two common disease of the Joints
Osteoarthritis is the most common disease of the joint. According to the centre for disease control and prevention (2017), it is the leading cause of chronic disability in older adults costing the US over 185 billion annually.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disorder arising from the biochemical break down of cartilage in the synovial joint. The symptoms include stiffness, pain and tenderness, loss of flexibility and grating sensation Rheumatic arthritis is another disease of the joint; it is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease. This inflammation is usually due to an external trigger such as cigarette smoking, infection or trauma. Statistics have shown that the annual mortality rate per 100,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis in Jamaica has increase by 638% since 1990, that’s an average of 27% per year. Symptoms include, redness, tenderness, swelling warmth, stiffness and loss of range of motion.
Despite the fact that the natural process of aging cannot be stopped, the risk and onset can be reduced. Here are some ways to reduce the risk of degenerative joint disease:
1. Maintain a healthy weight.
According to Roddy and Doherty (2006), in an article, Changing Lifestyle and Osteoarthritis, lifestyle modification – particularly exercise and weight reduction – is a core component in the management of osteoarthritis. Reduction in weight will put less strain on the joints, and hence less wear and tear of the cartilage.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #3– July-August 2017
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The body’s anatomy is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? It’s a wonder to watch how every area works in conjunction with another to carry out its functions. In fact, a quick look at how joints work can be quite fascinating.
Joints are found anywhere where two bones meet. All the bones in the body except the hyoid bone (in the neck) forms a joint with another bone. There are three types of joints including fibrous (immoveable), cartilaginous (slightly moveable) and synovial(freely moveable). If you look at the skeleton, you’ll see that joints not only bind the body together, they also give structure and allow muscles to move so the bones can perform various tasks like grasping, running and reaching. But overtime, all these activities can slow down due to aging, which is a natural process that the body has to go through. So if you do not maintain healthy joints, then the process of aging on the joints can affect your posture, walk and may lead to weakness and slow movement as the integrity of the joint is compromised.
Changes with Aging
Aging results in loss of bone mass or density, especially in females after menopause due to the loss of calcium and other minerals. Between each bone is a gel-like fluid and over the years, the bones of the spine (vertebrae) lose this fluid and mineral content and become thin. This results in the spinal column becoming curved and compressed resulting in change of posture. This process occurs at an earlier stage in men than women. As the long bones of the body lose bone density, they become more brittle and easily fractured. The reduction in the fluid at each joint space results in decrease flexibility hence stiffness at various joints. This is as a result of the cartilage rubbing together then wearing away and the deposits of mineral around some joints result in calcification. There may be degeneration of the bones in different areas of the body, while some may be inherited some are due to the natural process of aging.
The changes that occur with aging results in bones being brittle and may break more easily. There may be decrease of the trunk hence overall height may decrease. As the joints are broken down this may lead to inflammation, pain, stiffness and deformity. The posture becomes more bent and the knees and hips become more flexed, movement slows and becomes more limited.
Two common disease of the Joints
Osteoarthritis is the most common disease of the joint. According to the centre for disease control and prevention (2017), it is the leading cause of chronic disability in older adults costing the US over 185 billion annually.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disorder arising from the biochemical break down of cartilage in the synovial joint. The symptoms include stiffness, pain and tenderness, loss of flexibility and grating sensation Rheumatic arthritis is another disease of the joint; it is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease. This inflammation is usually due to an external trigger such as cigarette smoking, infection or trauma. Statistics have shown that the annual mortality rate per 100,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis in Jamaica has increase by 638% since 1990, that’s an average of 27% per year. Symptoms include, redness, tenderness, swelling warmth, stiffness and loss of range of motion.
Despite the fact that the natural process of aging cannot be stopped, the risk and onset can be reduced. Here are some ways to reduce the risk of degenerative joint disease:
1. Maintain a healthy weight.
According to Roddy and Doherty (2006), in an article, Changing Lifestyle and Osteoarthritis, lifestyle modification – particularly exercise and weight reduction – is a core component in the management of osteoarthritis. Reduction in weight will put less strain on the joints, and hence less wear and tear of the cartilage.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #3– July-August 2017
Share this post: