Bone Support Information

BONE SUPPORT

Bones provide a framework for our body; they protect the soft tissues and organs, act as a reservoir of minerals (especially calcium), and generate the cells of the blood (including some of the infection-fighting white blood cells). Osteoporosis is a disruption in bone homeostasis. It involves a loss of calcium and phosphate salts, resulting in bone that is weak, porous, brittle, and very susceptible to breakage. When it occurs in the spine, the vertebrae may get compressed and cause deformities of the spine. Risk factors include a low calcium intake, hormonal changes associated with aging/menopause, amenorrhea, alcoholism, smoking, lactose intolerance, overactive thyroid, and impaired calcium absorption.

In cartilage, collagenous fibers are embedded in a firm gel, instead of the hard, cement-like substance of bone. Oxygen and nutrients have to diffuse into cartilage, because it is not perfused with blood vessels like bone. Nutrients such as glucosamine sulfate and N-acetyl glucosamine, made naturally in the body, are major building blocks for the glycosaminoglycans that contribute to our connective tissue structure.

For the most part, people are generally unaware of their joints, unless a tissue dysfunction causes painful awareness. In a normal joint, the bones are lubricated at their junction by synovial fluid. The ligaments, along with the synovial lining, encapsulate the joint and protect it. In addition, a layer of cartilage also cushions the ends of both bones. Sometimes, the synovium can become inflamed and swollen, such as in the autoimmune disease of rheumatoid arthritis, which damages the joint capsule and the cushion of cartilage. Cartilage can degrade from wear and tear, causing the synovium and the ends of the bones to thicken, resulting in pain and stiffness (seen in osteoarthritis). Inflammation can gradually degrade the flexible joints in the lower spine, and can be the cause of low back pain.

Smooth muscle lines the arteries and some of the viscera. Cardiac muscle lines the heart. Skeletal muscle, however, is involved in the framework of the body, in the structural sense. Calcium and magnesium play major roles in the contraction and relaxation of muscle tissue. Ligaments are strong cords of dense fibrous connective tissue that connect bone to bone at most of the synovial joints. Tendons are also bands of connective tissue, however they attach muscle to bone.