Our musculoskeletal system is a group of organs and tissues that support and enable movement in our body. It comprises of bursae, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, muscles, bones, joints, cartilage, and synovial fluid.

The importance of our bones and joints in our day-to-day life is not unknown. Maintaining a good bone and joint health are crucial for various reasons, including preventing further illnesses or conditions that could harm our health or shorten our lives and improving our happiness, self-esteem, independence, quality of life, and mental and physical health.

Any issues in our bones and joints can affect the musculoskeletal system and cause havoc in our daily life. In this article, we will provide a detailed understanding of our musculoskeletal system and discuss some ways through which you can maintain your bone and joint health.

Components of Our Musculoskeletal System

Let us start from the very basics and understand the different components of our musculoskeletal system.

• Bones: Bones are the sturdy tissues that form the skeleton and give the body shape, support, and protection. Most bones also contain bone marrow, where blood cells are made.
• Joints: Joints are the places where bones meet, thus allowing movement of bones. There are different types of joints, such as hinge (elbow and knee), ball-and-socket (shoulder and hip), and gliding (wrist and ankle). Joints are made of structures like cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bursae, and synovial fluid.
• Cartilage: These are supple, flexible tissue present in joints, which cushions and decreases friction at the ends of bones. Along with the nose, ears, ribs, and trachea, cartilage also helps to construct other bodily structures.
• Ligaments: Tough bands of connective tissue that link and stabilise bones at joints are called ligaments. They restrict the joint’s range of motion to prevent injury.
• Tendons: The fibrous tissue cords that connect muscles to bones and transfer the force of muscle contraction to the bones are called tendons.
• Muscles: The soft tissues that contract and relax to move are known as muscles. Muscles are collections of fibres that can contract or relax in response to signals from the nervous system. While there are various types of muscles in our body, muscles present in our skeleton system are known as skeletal muscles.
• Bursae: The little sacks packed with fluid that cushion bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles at joints are bursae. At the joints, bursae lessen friction and swelling.
• Synovial fluid: This is a thick fluid that nourishes the cartilage and lubricates the joint cavity. It also contains cells that fight infection and clear joint waste.

Why is the Health of Bones and Joints Important?

Bone and joint health matters due to various reasons:

• Your bones and joints affect your movement, posture, coordination, and muscle use. Healthy bones and joints let you do your activities without pain, such as walking, climbing, lifting, working, or playing sports.
• A person’s happiness, self-esteem, independence, quality of life, and mental and physical health depend on their bones and joints.
• Healthy bones and joints help you enjoy life, pursue hobbies or leisure activities, connect with family and friends, cope with stress better, and feel more confident or satisfied.
• Your bones and joints can affect your risk of getting other diseases or conditions that can harm your health or shorten your life. Some of these are infections (like septic arthritis or osteomyelitis), deformities (like scoliosis or kyphosis), chronic hurting (from places like your back or neck), disability (like difficulty walking or using your hands), and fractures (bone breaks or cracks).

Common issues affecting bones and joints

Your musculoskeletal system may experience a variety of bone and joint issues. Let us take a look at a few common ones:

How can one keep bones and joints healthy?

Maintaining the health of your bones and joints requires a holistic approach. Here are the things that you need to take care of:

Exercise Regularly

Apart from this, regular, moderate exercise can benefit your bones, muscles, joints, and overall health. Exercise can help:

• Decrease bone loss that can prevent osteoporosis and boost bone formation.
• Prevent arthritis by improving joint flexibility and mobility.
• Prevent fractures by enhancing balance and coordination.
• Prevent infections by strengthening your immune system.
• Prevent deformities by adjusting posture and alignment.

Some of the exercises that are good for bone and joint health are:

• Weight-bearing exercises: These are exercises that can help you strengthen your bones. Examples of weight-bearing exercises include walking, jogging, dancing, or climbing stairs.
• Resistance exercises: These are exercises that make you work against a force, such as lifting weights, using elastic bands, or doing push-ups.
• Flexibility exercises: These exercises make you stretch your muscles and joints, such as stretching, yoga, or Pilates.
• Balance exercises: These exercises make you challenge your stability, such as standing on one leg, using a wobble board, or doing tai chi.

Protect Your Bones and Joints

Protecting your bones and joints from accidents and injuries is an important aspect of maintaining bone and joint health. Ensure you’re using appropriate safety gear such as helmets, pads, gloves, shoes, etc., especially when you engage in sports or activities that can hurt you. Follow safety rules and tips, such as wearing seat belts, using handrails, avoiding slippery surfaces and others when you do daily activities that can cause accidents. If you have any symptoms or signs of injury, such as pain, swelling, bruising, bleeding, deformity, or reduced function, see a doctor immediately.

Visit your doctor regularly for your bone and joint health. Your doctor can help you check your bone and joint condition and if he finds any problems, he will give you medicines or treatments, suggest supplements or therapies, monitor your progress or challenges, and provide referrals or resources. He will also help you to prevent or manage other diseases, such as diabetes, thyroid issues, kidney problems and others that can affect your bones and joints.

The role of Hormones in Bone and Joint Health

Hormones are chemicals that control various body processes and functions, including bone and joint growth, maintenance, and healing. Hormones can affect bone and joint health positively or negatively, depending on their type, level, and balance.

Let us take a look at some hormones that are important for healthy bones and joints:

Female Hormones

Oestrogen is the female sex hormone that helps bone growth and prevents bone loss. It also reduces joint pain and inflammation. After menopause, oestrogen levels drop, which makes women more prone to osteoporosis and arthritis. Some natural sources of oestrogen are soy products, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and plants like red clover and black cohosh.

Oestrogen replacement therapy (ERT) can help restore oestrogen levels and protect bone and joint health, but it can also cause breast cancer and blood clots. Therefore, ERT should be used carefully and under a doctor’s guidance.

Male Hormones

Testosterone, the male sex hormone, helps strengthen bones and muscles. It also reduces joint pain and inflammation. Men with low testosterone levels are more prone to osteoporosis and arthritis, as they age. Some natural sources of testosterone are zinc-rich foods like oysters, steak, pumpkin seeds, and almonds; vitamin D-rich foods like fatty fish, egg yolks, and mushrooms; and herbs like Tribulus Terrestrosin or fenugreek.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can increase testosterone levels and protect bone and joint health. However, TRT has risks or side effects, such as prostate cancer and heart problems. Therefore, TRT should be used carefully and with a doctor’s guidance.

Growth hormone

This hormone helps bones and muscles grow during childhood and adolescence. It also keeps bones healthy and heals tissues in adults. Bones and joints can suffer from low growth hormone levels as people age. Natural ways to boost growth hormone levels are exercise, rest, fasting, amino acids (such as arginine or glutamine), and herbs like ashwagandha or ginseng.

Growth hormone therapy (GHT) can raise growth hormone levels and protect bone and joint health, but it also has some risks or side effects, such as diabetes and carpal tunnel syndrome. Therefore, people should use GHT carefully and with a doctor’s advice.

Thyroid hormones

These hormones regulate metabolism and bone resorption. Too much or too little thyroid hormone can harm bones and joints: hyperthyroidism causes bone loss and increases fracture risk; hypothyroidism slows bone formation and worsens arthritis. You can gain a deeper understanding of thyroid related disorders from our article Thyroid Diseases Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Some natural ways to improve thyroid function are having iodine-rich foods like seaweed, salt, and dairy products, selenium-rich foods like Brazil nuts, tuna, and eggs, and herbs like bladder wrack or bugleweed.

Thyroid hormone therapy (THT) can balance thyroid hormone and protect bone and joint health, but it also has some risks, such as weight gain or heart palpitations. Therefore, THT should be used wisely and with a doctor’s advice.

Other hormones affecting bone and joint health are parathyroid, vitamin D, cortisol, insulin, and leptin. There are natural and pharmaceutical methods to balance them.

Sources

• https://www.livestrong.com/article/302331-joint-pain-progesterone/
• https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/kids/healthy-joints
• https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bones-muscles-and-joints
• https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/the-musculoskeletal-system
• https://www.columbiaasia.com/malaysia/orthopedics/
• https://apcobonehealth.org/
• https://codeblue.galencentre.org/bone-health-malaysia-fights-osteoporosis/
• https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/hormones-and-bone-health/
• https://open.oregonstate.education/exercise-nutrition-hormones-and-bone-tissue/
• https://www.verywellhealth.com/managing-bone-pain-on-hormone-therapy
• https://www.caringmedical.com/hormone-levels-cartilage-regeneration/