Bone Health & Strength
I mentioned in a Body Conditioning class recently that our joints and bones really benefit from physical activity.
Moving your joints keeps them lubricated with synovial fluid, allowing the bones on either side of the joint to move more smoothly across each other. Think: the body’s own WD40.
What’s more, the force that is exerted on our joints during exercise helps to prevent cartilage degradation, inflammation and even osteoarthritis, and promotes the bone remodelling process.
Bone Re-what process?
Bone remodelling.
People are sometimes surprised that bone is a living tissue. We tend to categorise bone as static, and the skeleton as simply a mechanical structure that provides scaffolding for our limbs.
If we think about it, we do know that bones are composed of living tissue: our skeletons grow as we develop through childhood and young adulthood; and if we fracture or break a bone, we do expect it to knit and mend.
But, somehow, we tend to think that bones are mineralised, inert and different from other tissues in the body, and that, as we mature and age, our bones will inevitably wear down or wear out. Particularly around our joints.
Bone is indeed living tissue.
Throughout our lives, bone remodelling takes place. Old tissue is removed from the bone through resorption by specialist cells, and new tissue is formed in a process called ossification.
This constant removing and rebuilding, or remodelling, responds to our everyday activities. Your overall bone strength is a combination of the amount of bone tissue you have - your bone density - and how strong that bone tissue is.
Regular physical activity stimulates the remodelling process. Like muscle, bone becomes healthier, stronger, and denser, as a result of exercise.
More than that, scientists now believe that, as living organs, bones play a role in regulating a range of bodily functions including metabolism, memory, appetite and fertility. Healthy bones mean healthy muscles and a healthy brain.
Bone health is important at all stages of life.
We often take having a strong skeleton and joints for granted, and associate concern for bone density with the very frail elderly. It is true that, as we age, we naturally lose some of our bone strength and density. In fact, we pass peak bone density in our 20s , from which point it gradually declines.
But having strong and healthy bones is important at every stage in life.
Exercising more during teenage years and early adulthood can continue to have a protective effect on bone health much later in life. The stronger & denser our bones are in our 20s, the greater the protection from age-related problems further down the line. We can build up our bone health young and bank it!
Physical activity really does have anti-ageing properties.
However, it is possible to improve bone health at any age. There are a number of nutrition and lifestyle habits that can help build and maintain strong bones, regular physical activity being one.
Weight-bearing and high-impact physical activities are great for promoting the bone remodelling process. Dancing, aerobics, playing badminton, running, skipping, and even jumping up and down on the spot all help to strengthen your bones and joints, as well as your muscles and ligaments.
Less impactful exercises are also good for your bones. Weight-bearing exercises, where you work against gravity, include walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs – and more dancing.
Resistance training, such as exercising with weights, can help to protect bone health in older adults, including those who already have low bone density.
A healthy diet - featuring a good range of vegetables, sufficient protein, calcium and Vitamins D and K – is important too, as is avoiding smoking. The sources and resources listed below may give you more inspiration.
Disclaimer: this blog is intended for general information purposes, and is not intended to be an alternative to medical advice from your GP or health professional. If you have been diagnosed with a bone or joint condition, follow the guidance you have been given and make sure you share that information with the exercise professional you’re working with.
Sources and Resources:
Healthline have a great list of the top ten ways you can naturally improve your bone health and strength Healthline - Build Healthy Bones