clavicle fracture featured image

Clavicle Fracture: Symptoms, Causes and Recovery/Rehabilitation

Most clavicle fractures will heal without an operation. They quite often managed in either a sling or brace to try to help support the weight of the arm to prevent the fracture from displacing and this also provides pain relief.

You have sustained a fracture to the middle portion of your collarbone also known as the clavicle.

Clavicle Fracture

 

As the above picture demonstrates that there is a common injury and it will heal itself naturally with the passage of time this normally, takes approximately six weeks but pain and swelling can be ongoing for three to six months because of the nature of the injury. There may always be a lump in this area it should however not be painful and have no long-term effects.

fracture sling

 

You will have been provided with a sling. This should be worn for the first two weeks. Only it should be removed regularly to perform the exercises.

You may need to take painkillers or anti-inflammatories, especially in the early stages. Some of these injuries require a follow-up appointment with an upper limb specialist. Certain injury types can lead to delayed healing.

  • One of the things that can slow down healing is smoking. If you do smoking it would be advisable to stop at least for the duration of the healing process.
  • You can start driving again when you can comfortably control the car. And obviously, you can’t drive if you’re still in the sling.
  • You can return to work when you feel comfortable and sports can be resumed at six weeks. Keep in mind though that pain and swelling can be ongoing. When you start impact activities.

 

Symptoms

 

  • Pain that increases with shoulder movement
  • Swelling
  • Tenderness
  • Bruising

 

Causes

 

  • Falls- Such as falling onto your shoulder or onto your outstretched hand.
  • Sports injuries- Such as a direct blow to your shoulder on the field, rink, or court.
  • Vehicle trauma- From a car, motorcycle, or bike accident.

 

Initial Exercises to be taken as part of your rehabilitation:

 

It’s really important in the first stage of your rehabilitation to remove your sling to do the following exercises three to four times a day.

  1.  Hand and Wrist Exercise: You can move your wrist in upwards and downwards position getting a good stretch of that joint. You can use a pair of socks that you make a ball and hold and squeeze to add some resistance to this exercise. This is good to help to reduce the swelling.
  2.  Elbow Exercise: You need to practice straightening your elbow and bending it towards your mouth. Elbow also works in rotation and moves your hand from facing palm up to palm down.
  3.  Rollback Shoulder Exercise: You should bring your shoulders back so that, you get a stretch across the front of your chest. You should hold this position for approximately 30 seconds and repeat this four to five times a day.
  4.  Pendulum exercises: Hold on to a firm surface bring your feet into a step starts position and gently lean forward letting your arm come forward with it. You can then move your arm in forwarding and backward momentum. Just like the pendulum from a clock and also do with sideways movement, clockwise rotation. Do this exercise for a minute or a minute and a half again four to five times a day.

 

These exercises are only to be undertaken after 3 weeks:

 

The next stage of your rehabilitation is about gently starting to move your shoulder. This exercise is known as an active-assisted range of movement.

The first movement direction is to hold on to your hand with your good arm and gently guide it up in the air. You should repeat this 10 times nice and slowly and thinking about the quality of the movement.

The second movement is a rotational way for this get a stick and place your arm firmly with an overhand grip onto the stick. Use your arm in a sideways outer movement. Keep your elbow close by your side.

The exercise you should do about 10 repetitions on both exercises about 4 to 5 times a day.

 

These exercises are only to be undertaken after 6 weeks:

 

The third stage of rehabilitation is about regaining the range of movement and strength in your shoulder.

The first exercise is bringing your arms straight up in front of you as far as you can do comfortably. It’s important to focus on your posture while doing it.

The second exercise is to your thumb outwards and do a similar movement but in a big arc. Once again just go as far as you feel able to and each day hopefully this will improve a little bit.

 

 

We recommend you to take your doctor’s advice for proper guidance.

Do share this blog with your friends and family!

 

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Osteoporosis Featured Image

Osteoporosis – causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

 

Osteo refers to bones and porosis means pores. So, osteoporosis is when there’s a higher breakdown of bone. A decrease in bone density to the point of potential fracture.

Looking at a cross-section of a bone, there’s a hard-external layer known as the cortical bone and a softer internal layer of spongy bone that is composed of trabeculae. The trabeculae are like a framework of beams that give structural support to the spongy bone. The cortical bone, in turn, is made up of many functional, pipe-like units called osteons, which run through the length of the bone.

In the center of these osteons, there are hollow spaces called Haversian canals, which contain the blood supply and innervation for the bone cells. Around the Haversian canals, there are concentric lamellae, which look a bit like tree rings.

The lamellae have an organic part, which is mostly collagen, and an inorganic part called hydroxyapatite, which is mostly calcium phosphate. In between neighboring lamellae, there are spaces called lacunae, which contain bone cells called osteocytes.

Osteoporosis

At first glance, the bone may appear motionless and unchanging, but it’s actually a very dynamic tissue.

Bone Remodeling:

In fact,

  • Spongy bone is replaced every 3 to 4 years.
  • Compact bone is replaced every 10 years.

In a process called bone remodeling which has two steps:

  1. Bone resorption: when specialized cells called osteoclasts break down bone.
  2. Bone formation: which is when another type of cells called osteoblasts form new bone.

 

Bone remodeling as a whole is highly dependent on serum calcium levels, which, in turn, are kept in the normal range by a balance between parathyroid hormone (PTH), Calcitonin, and Vitamin D.

Parathyroid hormone is produced by the parathyroid glands in response to low serum calcium, and it increases bone resorption to release calcium into the bloodstream.

On the other hand, calcitonin is produced by the thyroid gland in the response to high serum calcium, so it opposes the action of PTH- therefore promoting bone formation and decreasing bone resorption.

Finally, vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut, so it increases serum calcium, promoting bone formation and decreasing bone resorption.

Peak Bone Mass

The balance between their regulatory factors results in a peak bone mass, usually by age 20 to 29 and this usually occurs earlier in females than in males. Factors that determine the peak bone mass are genetics. For example, people of African descent tend to have greater bone mass and nutrition.

Finally, strength training increases peak bone mass, as well as hormones like estrogens and androgens that inhibit bone resorption.

When osteoclasts break down bone faster than the osteoblasts can rebuild, it results in the lowering of the bone mass and eventually in osteoporosis.

Causes

Spongy bone and cortical bone, these bone changes increase the risk of fracture, and they are known as fragility or pathologic fractures. Some bones like the vertebrae, shoulder blades, and ribs consist mainly of spongy bone, so they are at great risk of fragility fractures.

Factors that accelerate bone mass loss and increase the risk of osteoporosis are low estrogen levels, like after menopause, and low serum calcium.

Additional factors include alcohol consumption, smoking, drugs that decrease calcium absorption from the gut through antagonism of vitamin D, and drugs like heparin and L-thyroxine.

Another factor is physical inactivity, as seen in astronauts in a zero-gravity environment where they just don’t use their musculoskeletal system as hard as when they’re on earth. As a result, bone deposition decreases due to a lack of stress, while resorption increases.

There are also diseases that can cause osteoporosis like

  • Turner syndrome
  • Hyperprolactinemia
  • Klinefelter syndrome
  • Cushing syndrome
  • Diabetes mellitus.

 

Now, the two most common types of osteoporosis are

1. Postmenopausal osteoporosis

In postmenopausal osteoporosis, decreased estrogen levels lead to increased bone resorption.

2. Senile osteoporosis

People with senile osteoporosis don’t usually have symptoms until a fracture occurs.

Symptoms

The most common type of fractures are vertebral fractures, also known as compression fractures, and it occurs when one or more bones in the spine weaken and shatter. Vertebral fractures cause back pain, height loss, and a hunched posture.

Femoral neck fractures and distal radius fractures can also occur, and they’re often associated with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Diagnosis

Osteoporosis is usually diagnosed with a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or DEXA scan which tests for bone density.

Treatment  

Treatment for osteoporosis usually relies on bisphosphonate drugs like Alendronate and Risedronate. If osteoporosis is really advanced, teriparatide, a recombinant parathyroid hormone can be used.

 

 

We recommend you to take your doctor’s advice for proper guidance.

Do share this blog with your friends and family!

 

 

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Knee Pain Featured Image

Know Your Knee Pain | Causes, Symptoms and Management of Knee Pain |

In this article, we are going to talk about knee pain. Why does it happen? What are the associated symptoms of knee pain and how it is managed?

The knee joint is a very important joint of our body. It enables us to do daily tasks like walking, standing, and climbing stairs, etc.

The knee joint comprises of three bones:

  • Femur bone also called the thigh bone.
  • Tibia bone also called the shin bone.
  • Patella bone also called the kneecap bone.

knee femur boneknee Tibia BoneKnee (Patella cap)

All three bones have a diffident articular surface or as you can say the different ends.

The knee joint is an incongruent surface and that’s the reason the surrounding structures like capsules, ligaments, menisci, and muscles are the supporting system for the joints for its stability.

The function of the knee joint is not only to provide mobility but also to provide stability.

 

Causes of Knee Pain:

The incongruent surface is the biggest reason why the knee is more prone to develop injury and pay. However, are the reasons which one can experience knee pain is due to malalignment or poor tracking of patella bone.

Incongurent joint

Due to tightness and weakness of the thigh muscles, due to degenerative changes in the joint also called arthritis of the joint.

Due to repeated injury and sometimes due to some systemic diseases.

 

Symptoms:

Some of the associated symptoms for knee pain are,

  • Swelling
  • Instability
  • Weakness
  • Stiffness

 

Management of Knee Pain:

The general management of knee pain usually comprises of two methods:

1. Conservative method

The conservation method generally comprised of anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, muscle relaxant ointments, hot and cold fermentation. Use of supportive devices like brace’s, knee caps, and physiotherapy.

Wherever the knee damages are reversible or as there is no scope of improvement.

2. Surgical method

Surgery is the last option for management, usually, knee joint pain is a long-term problem. It takes time for recovery and that’s the reason physiotherapy is a popular form of management for knee pain.

Physiotherapy management for knee pain generally comprises the use of hot and cold fermentation of electrotherapy devices like Interferential Therapy (IFT), Ultrasound, and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS).

Use of exercises to focus on improving mobility, strength, and flexibility of the muscles.

 

For further advice do reach out to your local doctor or family doctor.

Do share this blog with your friends and family!

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built healthier bones featured image

11 Ways for You to Build Healthier Bones

Bones are the support system of the body, literally, apart from providing structure they also protect organs, anchor muscles, and store calcium. So it’s very important to keep them strong and healthy.

When you’re young you tend to gain more bone mass than lose, but once you turn 30 your body starts to lose more bone mass than it can gain.

According to recent statistics, one in three women over the age of 50 years and one in five men will experience bone fractures in their lifetime.

Don’t worry, it’s not as bad it sounds. If you take care of your bones and keep them healthy. They will likely remain dense enough even when you’re older without causing any problems.

However, if your bones are thin and unhealthy. Then, they might start deteriorating quickly. This can lead to weak brittle and diseases like rickets and osteoporosis. It can be expensive and difficult to get back healthy bones after that.

This article will tell you the natural ways in which you can build healthy bones.

11 Ways to Build Healthy Bones

1. Increase Calcium Intake:

The first thing that usually comes to mind when you hear about bones is calcium. Maintaining a proper calcium intake can make them stronger. The recommended amount of calcium per day is 1000 mg (milligrams) for most people. Although, teens need 1300 and older women require 1200 mg.
Foods Such as cheese, yogurt, beans, salmon, and sardines are rich in calcium. We would suggest filling your calcium needs through diet rather than supplements and tablets.

2. Exercise Regularly:

Regular exercise is the key to keeping a number of health issues away and bones are no exception, your bones respond to exercise by becoming stronger. Exercising can also help you maintain muscle, coordination, and balance. Which in turn helps to prevent falls and related fractures. A sedentary lifestyle is considered a risk factor for osteoporosis.

One study found that athletes who exercise regularly have the highest bone density.

Showing exercise has a positive effect on bone health. Weight-bearing and resistance exercises are best for strengthening your bones. Weight-bearing exercise can be anything from hiking, walking, jogging, and climbing. While resistance exercises include lifting weights and you can pick your choice or do both of these.

3. Get Enough Vitamin D:

Just like calcium, vitamin D is also vital for good bone health it protects your bones by helping your body absorb calcium. Vitamin D also helps to support the muscles needed to avoid falls.

Children need vitamin D to build strong bones and adults needed to keep their bones strong and healthy. If you don’t get enough vitamin D you’re more likely to break bones as you age.

Some good sources of vitamin D are sunlight and foods like salmon, tuna orange juice, and soy milk. Just keep in mind vitamin D is found in very few foods.

4. Avoid Alcohol: 

You must be aware that drinking too much alcohol is bad for your body. A lesser-known ill effect of alcohol is that it’s damaging to your bones as well.

Drinking alcohol can impact bone nutrition and disrupt hormone regulators. Which are important for bone formation. It reduces this process by directly inhibiting bone-forming cells.

5. More Potassium:

Potassium helps maintain a healthy acid-alkaline balance in the body leading to reduce calcium loss. Potassium also plays a buffering role in your blood keeping the bone-strengthening materials like calcium and phosphorus from being lost from the bones and kidneys.

Researchers found that people with high potassium intake have 8% greater bone mineral density than those with lower intake. You can eat potassium through foods like legumes, bananas, spinach, broccoli, and potatoes.

6. Cut Down On Coffee:

Studies have shown that caffeine consumption contributes to low bone density. Caffeine takes calcium from bones which leads to a decline in its strength.

In fact, you lose six milligrams of calcium for every 100 milligrams of caffeine intake. So if you’re finding it difficult to curb your caffeine addictions. You can go to decaf coffees and still be satisfied.

7. Olives: 

Little green and black fruits as well as olive oil are rich in powerful antioxidants that reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. They also promote bone cell formation increasing bone density and making them stronger.

You can make it an ingredient in your favorite dish salad or sandwich. Remember they’re quite bitter when coming straight off the tree.

8. Quit Smoking: 

Among the many harmful effects of smoking damage to bones is one of them. Smoking reduces the blood supply to the bones making them weaker. The nicotine in cigarettes slows the production of bone-producing cells.

It also decreases the body’s absorption of calcium. Which is necessary for vital cellular functions and bone health. Smoking affects the balance of hormones including estrogen. Which is needed to build and maintain a strong skeleton.

9. Eat Lots Of Leafy Green Vegetable: 

Eating lots of leafy green vegetables is very good for bone health. They are high in calcium and are easily absorbed by the body. Some leafy green vegetables that are good for you are spinach, kale, collard, and turnip.

10. Nuts: 

You must be used to have nuts as a snack or as an addition to your salad. You’ll be surprised to hear that nuts are loaded with minerals that are essential to building strong bones. Nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Which decreases the rate of bone breakdown and keeps bone formation constant.

They are also a good source of magnesium. Which helps in the absorption and metabolism of calcium in turn promoting bone health. Some nuts that you can eat are walnuts, almonds, and cashew.

11. Tap Water: 

One of these simplest ways to improve bone health. It’s drinking tap water. Tap water contains fluoride which helps prevent cavities. Cavities are a part of your bones and fluoride adds to their density making them healthier and stronger.

Researchers found that drinking fluoridated tap water improves bone density and reduces the risk of hip and spine fractures.

 

For further advice do reach out to your local doctor or family doctor.

Let Us Know by commenting below that which one or two ways you need to add or remove from your diet.

Do share this blog with your friends and family!

 

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arthroscopy-procedure

Arthroscopy: Purpose & Procedure

Arthroscopy also calls ‘arthroscopic surgery’ is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope and an endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision.

Arthroscopic procedures can be performed during anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) reconstruction. While commonly used for meniscal injuries to the knee this use is not supported by the evidence.

The advantage over traditional open surgery is that a joint does not have to be opened up fully for knee arthroscopy only two small incisions are made one for the arthroscope and one for the surgical instruments to be used in the knee cavity.

This reduces recovery time and may increase the rate of success. Due to less trauma to the connective tissue, it is especially useful for professional athletes who frequently in journey joints and require fast healing time.

There is also less scarring because of the smaller incisions. Irrigation fluid is used to distend the joint don’t make a surgical space.

Surgeons view the joint area on a video monitor and can diagnose and repair torn joint tissue. Such as ligaments it is technically possible to the one arthroscopic examination of almost every joint but is most commonly used for the knee, shoulder, elbow wrist, ankle, foot, and hip.

Equipment Used for Arthroscopy are as follow: 

  • Linear camera
  • Tubular camera
  • Cabinet
  • Television screen
  • Camera analyzer
  • Radiofrequency control unit
  • Cautery machine

 

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Frozen Shoulder Featured Image

Frozen Shoulder: Causes, Symptoms and Diagnosis

What is Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulder is characterized by a generalized pain in the shoulder and progressive loss of mobility. So when assessing patients, they often have very nonspecific pain around the shoulder and they have difficulties in moving their arms in all directions.

Frozen shoulder or its other term is adhesive capsulitis and is a relatively common condition affecting typically women between ages of 40 to 60, that comes on for no good reason. Women tend to get it more than men.

 

What Causes Frozen Shoulder?

It’s an autoimmune reaction which means it’s your own immune system that becomes overactive and attacks your shoulder joint. It’s mainly the capsule and the ligaments around the shoulder joint that becomes really inflamed and painful.

This inflammation causes thickening of the capsule and the ligaments it causes adhesions and it causes fibrosis or scar tissue. All of that makes the capsule and everything contract and that narrows the joint space.

So, the natural kind of progression of a frozen shoulder is that it goes through a really painful stage. While it’s actively inflamed.

 

Two types of frozen shoulder:

Primary: A primary frozen shoulder is with an unknown cause. It has just developed for seemingly no reason.

Secondary: A secondary frozen shoulder is when you can usually attribute it to a certain trauma, surgery, or medical condition. Most commonly hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, or diabetes.

Now, regardless of whether a frozen shoulder is primary or secondary, it typically follows three phases.

 

Frozen shoulder is classically described in the three phases.

  1. Freezing phase:  The freezing phase is also known as the painful stage because typically, this is the most painful stage of all. It is characterized by generalized pain with progressive loss of mobility in the joint. Now, this stage can last anywhere between 3 to 8 months and patients often have difficulties in pinpointing the exact location of the problem.
  2. Frozen phase: During this phase, patients will often report that there’s less pain, but there’s also a lot less movement as well. This phase typically lasts between four to six months, although sometimes longer.
  3.  Thawing phase: This is the recovery phase, Patients will eventually enter the thawing phase, and in many cases, frozen shoulder is a self-limiting condition, meaning that eventually, it does get better, sometimes completely on its own. But that process can take sometimes up to two years or more.

 

What are your treatment options?

So in terms of treatment, for patients who are in that initial freezing phase, inflammatory phase, or having a lot of pain, anti-inflammatory medication can be helpful.

The key is gentle physical therapy under the direction of a skilled physical therapist or sometimes even just self-directed at home, which can be beneficial to help maintain range of motion.

Doctors also routinely employ the use of intra-articular corticosteroid injections, which is an injection that’s done directly into the shoulder joint.

So, if the patient is not getting better over a certain period of time.

A surgical procedure is actually performed it’s called an arthroscopic capsular release, so the procedures are done arthroscopically through small incisions and what’s actually done is under arthroscopic visualization, the stiff and fibrotic capsule is actually cut and released.

The bottom line is you have shoulder pain, and it’s affecting your daily living.

I think it’s time to get checked out initially, by your primary care physician, but certainly if the pain’s persisting and it seems like something is going on and it’s not just getting better on its own, it may be time to get checked out by orthopedics.

 

When should I see my Doctor?

It is recommended as a first step to see your primary care doctor and discussing the problem and at that point, the next step may be a referral to physical therapy or even evaluation by an orthopedist.

 

What can you expect at your first appointment?

At the first visit, a patient can expect, first of all, and perhaps most importantly a thorough history. That’s critical to making an accurate diagnosis. Secondly, thorough out a physical examination of the shoulder.

 

 

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Back Pain Featured image

Why We Have Back Pain & Backache? |Work From Home (Problem / Solution)|

What is Back Pain?

Back pain is a common problem. It frequently results from the strain of normal muscle, ligament, or tendon.

How is the back structured?

The spine, or the backbone, is one of the strongest parts of the body and gives us a great deal and flexibility and strength. It consists of 24 irregular bones.

Vertebrae that sit on top of the others separated by in-between discs. Inside the hard vertebrae.

vertebraeDiscsspinal cord

The spinal cord travels well protected, bridging the communication from the brain to the rest of the body, aided by the nervous system.

What causes back pain?

Poor posture, lack of physical training causing the back to stiffen, muscle strain, and sprains.

Some specific conditions are linked with the painful back including spondylosis, sciatica, and spinal stenosis.

spondylosis, sciatica and spinal stenosis.

Commonly related conditions,

Spondylosis:

Your back pain is affected by the wear and tear of the spine. As we get older, the discs inside the spine become thinner, narrowing the gaps between the vertebrae.

Spondylosis_ thinner

The condition may be worsened at the edges of the vertebrae and facet joints by the development of bone spurs or osteophytes.

Spondylosis_ bone spurs or osteophytes

Sciatica:

Sciatica_ Discs

Sciatica is caused by the irritation or compression of sciatic nerve roots in the spine. This may result in linked pain or numbness or tingling sensation in the legs. Pain travels all the way down the leg and foot.

 

Sciatica_ legs

Fortunately, 60% of people recover very quickly. Although in some cases it may take a number of months.

Other Causes:

Another rare cause of back pain is Spin stenosis. The bone problem such as a fracture and an infection, tumor, inflammation such as in Ankylosing spondylitis.

Spinstenosis

When should I see my Doctor?

You should see your doctor if your pain is very severe or lasts for a long period of time and significantly affect your everyday activities.

See your doctor immediately if you have difficulty controlling or passing urine, you lose control of your bowels, you feel numbness on the area of your anus or genitals, you have weakness in your legs, or are unsteady on your feet.

How are back problems diagnosed?

As most cases of back pain improve by themselves, a quick examination can diagnose most back pain conditions immediately. It rarely requires additional procedures.

What tests are there?

If needed, a rheumatologist may advise an X-ray, MRI scan, CT scan.

What Can I Do To Help Myself?

Painkillers, Paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, a proton pump inhibitor which will help to protect the stomach.

Regular physical exercise helps you lose weight as this will reduce the strain on your back. Maintain a good straight posture whenever you sit at home, work, or in the car.

When you have to lift something, try to bend your knees and let your spine move without twisting. If it’s too much you can relieve the pain and stiffness by putting a heat pack in the affected area or an ice pack.

Who should treat me?

If back pain is still not settled, you need to see a specialist, a rheumatologist who would advise you on specialized treatment accordingly.

Back Pain: Work from Home (Problem)

Do you feel pain in your head from particularly from the front of the head and slowly radiating to the backside?

Do you feel pain in the lower back part of your lower back?

The pros and cons of work from home this small term work from home brings so many problems.

We talk about the positive side of work from home but it comes with a cost and that’s what we are going to discuss.

The most important problems associated with work from home and how to get rid of them?

  • Most people like 60% and above suffer from spinal pain in work from home that is lower back pain.
  •  Then comes the shoulder pain.
  •  The third is the pain in the skull in the front of your head.
  •  The fourth one is the issue with the vision.

These are the four things according to the study.

Back Pain: Work from Home (Solution)

  • Improve your posture while sitting on the chair while working on a laptop and invest in a good chair that will give you good posture.
  • Do some lower back exercises, to strengthen the back muscles.
  • The laptop or desktop screen should match your eye site level.
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How to Strengthen Bones without Calcium

How to Strengthen Bones without Calcium |Bone Density Myths|

It doesn’t matter if you’re young, it doesn’t matter you’re old. It doesn’t matter if you’re too fit or not fit. The simple case of the matter is that bone density plays a big role in everything. That we are working with regard to whether its fitness or long-term health.

The lame thing is, most of the industry and most of the mainstream are leading us totally astray. They all told us that calcium is the most important thing when in reality when it comes down to bone health.

When it comes down to making sure your tendons and your joints are really functioning at their best. There are a lot of other things that are much demanding to pay attention to.

In this article, I will address the truth behind bone density and the truth behind the mineral that you truly need.

 

Bone Density Myths

 

Vitamin D is one that a lot of people know about it and there is a simple fact of the matter is getting your vitamin D from sunlight is always going to be the best way.

You can take a supplemental vitamin D but here’s the thing some people have their opinions and there’s some science that is starting to show that taking vitamin d3 could deplete your retinol levels.

Now I’m not saying don’t take a vitamin D supplement but what I am saying is making sure that you’re regulating it.

Vitamin D does help to Corral the calcium and put it into the right places that’s why when you look at a pack of milk a lot of times it all say calcium plus vitamin D, but what we have to remember is that we don’t want to overdo it with anything getting it from sunlight always going to be the best.

However, there was one study that was published in 2005 in the journal of the American Medical Association that found that just taking seven to eight hundred IU’s of vitamin D daily did dramatically decreases the risk of hip fractures in post-menopausal women.

We are likely not deficient in calcium between dairy products, almonds, salmon, leafy greens it is high in calcium.

Unlikely, that you have a deficiency in calcium. In fact, if you actually do get your blood work done. So, you would probably find you’re not that deficient in calcium. We are frankly influenced to believe that we inherently have a deficiency in calcium.

 

How do Calcium and Magnesium work in our body?

 

When in reality calcium and magnesium work together and magnesium plays a bigger role than we may think you see magnesium can actually help to regulate the serum levels of calcium in the body.

This magnesium actually regulates calcium transport in the body. In fact, there is a positive correlation between magnesium levels and calcium levels that’s going into the bones.

Believe it or not, more magnesium in your body equals more density in the bones.

Need to understand the relationship between calcium and magnesium because in a lot of ways they are sort of the opposite. Since calcium excites a cell, magnesium encourages the relaxation of that cell. Then where calcium causes the blood to clot.

Magnesium generally helps keep blood flowing the same type of thing when it comes down to muscle contractions calcium is going to increase the muscle’s ability to contract.

Although, magnesium is going to allow that muscle to relax it’s not a good thing or a bad thing we just have to remember that relationship and the balance between calcium and magnesium.

Here’s the issue most people in the western world are consuming three and a half times as much calcium as they are magnesium. If you’re looking at balance here, how does that equate this study was published in 1993 in the journal of magnesium research and what it did is it take a look at 31 post-menopausal women.

These women they compared to a control group. For the 31 women, they gave 125 milligrams of magnesium 6 times per day for two years than the other group they gave nothing it was a control group.

What they found is at the end of two years the group that took magnesium had considerably higher levels of bone density and good bone mineralization compared to placebo. So that it clearly shows us that magnesium does play a role in bone density.

It does play a part in how the calcium is taken up into the bone to actually make a bone harder and stronger.

There’s a part two to this study and this is actually looking at it a two years later they found that those that we’re taking the magnesium even after they stopped taking the magnesium.

Still retain their bone density notably more than those that didn’t take the magnesium. So not only is magnesium good for getting bones stronger but also for keeping them stronger quite permanently.

 

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Types of Joints

6 Types Of Joints: Human Anatomy

The joints of the skeleton define the motion of the body and its limitations.

This article is about the types of joints in the human body.

Joints that are fibrous and cartilaginous hardly move, and some like the connection of the two pubic bones they don’t move at all.

fibrous and cartilaginous                pubic bone

 

Synovial Joints:

 

They have varying shapes, but the important thing about them is the movement they allow. Joints determine what position our bodies can take.

We learn them to invent poses. And we learn the limits to stretch the limits.

There are 6 types of synovial joints are Hinge, Pivot, Ball & socket, Ellipsoid, Saddle, and Plane.

 

6 Synovial joints

 

Let’s go through them one by one,

 

Hinge Joint:

 

The hinge is a very simple joint. It allows movement only on one axis. Its structure prevents rotation sideways.

The head of one bone wraps around the cylindrical head of the other, allowing a very stable rotation to the upper side.

 

Hinge Joint             

 

The hinge joint allows flexion and extension.

The best example of it is the elbow, it only does flexion and extension.

So, if the elbow only allows flexion and extension, how is it that we are able to twist the forearm?

Well, let’s take a look at the next joint.

 

Pivot Joint:

 

The pivot joint also allows rotation at only one axis. However, it rotates along the long axis.

 

 

Pivot joint Long axis

 

A cylindrical bone fits into a ring of bone and ligament, with the radioulnar joint just below the elbow.

 

Pivot joint

 

The cap on the radius bone fits nicely into this notch on the ulna bone.

 

Pivot joint (radioulnar)

Ligaments complete the ring, holding the bone in place and allow the radius only to rotate inside of it.

 

Pivot joint ring

 

The result on the forearm is what we call pronation and supination.

 

Pivot joint (Pronation)           Pivot joint (Supination)

 

During pronation, the base of the radius rotates over and around the head of the ulna. The ulna stays relatively still.

 

Pivot joint (Radius, Ulna)

 

Remember, the hinge joint at the elbow prevents the ulna from twisting. So all of that twisting happens at the radius.

And by the way, the distal joint of the ulna and radius is also a pivot joint.

The combination of the pivot at the top and at the bottom creates that twisting motion for pronation and supination.

 

Ball & Socket Joint:

 

The ball and socket is the champion of all joints. Its structure is just like how it sounds. A ball inside of a socket.

Ball and socket              Ball and socket 1

 

This simple and effective structure allows it to move in all axes- flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, rotation, and circumduction.

The two ball and socket joints of the body are at the hip and the shoulder.

 

Ball and socket (hip)                Ball and socket (Shoulder)

 

The hip has a deep socket, which gives it stability but limits some range of motion. The shoulder joints have a shallower socket, which gives it a greater range of motion but takes away some stability. Maybe that’s why a dislocated shoulder is so common.

 

Ellipsoid Joint:

 

Ellipsoid Joint

 

The ellipsoid joint is very similar to a ball and socket. However, the ligaments and their oval shape prevent rotation. But it still has the ability to rotate on two axes, which allows flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and circumduction.

Circumduction is just a combination of all the others in a circular motion. The ball or oval head also slides inside the socket.

When it rotates along the wider plane, you can see how it pops out too much from the socket. So, it slides in back to the center.

A great example of an ellipsoid joint is the wrist, aka radiocarpal joint. The group of carpal bones rotates inside the socket of the radius.

 

Saddle Joint:

 

The saddle joint is similar to the ellipsoid but the rotation is limited mostly because of the bone structure. The structure of the saddle is very interesting.

 

              Saddle Joint 1

 

Both bones have a concave and convex surface. Convex means the surface sticks out, like a hill. Concave means the surface curves in, like a hole or a cave. The concave plane of one fits on the convex plane of the other.

 

Saddle Joint (Concave and convex)

 

So, this unique structure allows the joint to flex, extend, abduct, adduct, circumduction, and very slightly rotate.

An example of a saddle joint on the body is the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb.

 

Saddle Joint (Carpometacarpal Joint)

 

 

Plane Joint: 

 

It’s basically two flat surfaces, one on top of the other.

 

Plane Joint                Plane Joint

 

These surfaces can glide or rotate. They usually come in groups, like the carpal bone of the hand and the tarsal bone of the foot. The ligament holds these bones together but might allow some rotation and gliding.

 

Plane Joint

 

Another plane joint is the acromioclavicular joint. That’s the one between the clavicle and acromion process of the scapula.

 

Plane Joint

 

When we elevate the shoulder, the angle in here will adjust to keep the scapula vertical.

 

 

 

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Fracture healing feature image

Bone Fracture Healing: Primary and Secondary Procedures

Fracture healing is a specialized type of wound healing comprised of a sequence of inflammation, repair, and remodeling. That can restore the injured bone in the way of fracture heals depends on the amount of movement occurring between the fragments.

Where there is some movement at the fracture secondary bone healing occurs with a gradual transition of tissue types as the healing progresses.

 

Secondary Bone Healing:

Secondary bone healing is the natural form of healing in tubular bones under most circumstances there is some movement at the fracture site and bone heals with a callus in five overlapping phases.

These are the phase of tissue destruction and hematoma formation then the inflammatory phase, soft callus formation followed by hard callus formation, and the remodeling of the bone.

1. Tissue Destruction And Haematoma Formation

Following a bone, fracture vessels are torn and hematoma forms surround the fracture.

Tissue Destruction and Haematoma formation

 

2. Inflammation (Week 1)

Within a few hours of the fracture, there is an acute inflammatory reaction with the influx of inflammatory cells from surrounding soft tissues.

 

Inflammation (Week 1)

 

Various inflammatory mediators come into play which includes cytokines transforming growth factor-beta and platelet-derived growth factor.

Later on, the clotted hematoma is slowly and find new capillaries grow into the area by the end of this phase the mesenchymal stem cell start to multiply. These stem cells are derived from the periosteum the breached medullary canal and the surrounding muscles.

 

3. Soft Callus (Weeks 2-3)

Muscles in depending on the local biological and biomechanical environment. The stem cells differentiate into fibroblasts, Chondroblasts, and Osteoblasts.

soft callus (Week 2-3)

 

Simultaneously osteoblast starts clearing up the dead bone. The granulation tissue is gradually replaced with fibrous connective tissue and cartilage the thick cellular mass with it silence of a mature bone and cartilage forms the callous or splint the periosteum and industrial surfaces.

Soft callus (Week 2-3)soft callus (Week 2-3)

 

The fracture ends becomes sticky and movement is reduced.

 

4. Hard Callus & Consolidation (Weeks 4-12)

Bone formation begins within the soft callus, where the strain is lowest. Bone can be formed in two ways by intramembranous ossification and by endochondral ossification.

Hard CallusHard CallusHard Callus

Calcium is laid down in the matrix and the callus then becomes visible on radiographs as the immature fiber bone or the woven bone.

The fracture has consolidated once it has completely healed with the bridging bone.

 

5. Remodeling (Months to Years)

Now the fracture has been bridged by a cuff of solid bone over a period of months or even years.

Remodeling (Months to Years)Remodeling (Months to Years)Remodeling (Months to Years)

The crude world is reshaped by a continuous process of alternating bone resorption and formation.

This is the same process as occurs in routine skeletal turnover as well as in primary bone healing.

 

Also Read: Types of Bone Fractures: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

 

Primary Bone Healing:

In primary bone healing, bone healing is seen when the fracture is reduced and helps absolutely rigidly following internal fixation.

Primary bone healing

Fracture and compression also a similar pattern of healing is seen in the impacted fracture in cancellous bones.

Primary bone healingprimary bone healing

 

Two patterns of primary bone healing are observed,

 

Gap healing

 

New capillaries and osteoprogenitor cells growing in from the fracture edges fill the gap and new bone is laid down on the exposed surface.

In case of very narrow gaps directly lamellar bone is formed.

narrow gapnarrow gap

 

For wiper gaps initially woven bone is formed which is then remodeled to the lamellar bone.

 

Contact healing

 

When the fracture surfaces are in intimate contact and held rigidly from the outset.

Contact healing

Internal bridging may occasionally occur without any intermediate stages and primary healing by three to four weeks bone remodeling unit starts acting.

Which lay down organize lamellar bone to create a brand new Haversian system.

 

So this was a brief description of the bone healing process.

 

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