A Look Into Aging Joints and Bones

Joints suffer an enormous amount  of strain throughout our lives.  They endure the entire weight of  our body and give shape to the  hundreds of bones that make up  our skeleton.

As the years go by, the everyday  strain on our joints worsens  exponentially. By the age of 30  we start to feel some restriction  in our joints, and by the age of  60 their deterioration is  significant.

Joints' deterioration has a  dramatic impact on our health,  and together with other effects  of the aging process, it can  severely affect our lifestyle and  mobility.

As joints age, the cartilage that  coats the ends of the bones to  prevent friction during movement  are worn down. The remaining  cartilage cracks in response to  dehydration brought on by aging,  resulting in joint pain and  limited movement.

Similarly, the synovial fluid  present in some joints decreases  in quality over the years. As the  fluid thins down, its buffering  effect is reduced, increasing  bone friction and resulting in  pain of the joint. Flexibility is  significantly reduced in joints  where synovial fluid is prominent.

The production of collagen and  elastin throughout the body  suffers a significant decline in  joints. Tendons and ligaments  made up of these proteins are  thereby less flexible and  elastic, while calcium deposits  and scar tissue growth restrict  any flexibility or mobility.

Muscles also decline with age,  although they do less so than  joints, tendons, and ligaments.  As muscles age, the myofiber  arrangement within the sarcolemma  becomes disorganized as the cells  die off.

So as not leave it empty, the  body counteracts with a  production of connective tissue  to replace dying cells. Over  time, connective tissue becomes  harder to produce, and fat is  stored in its replacement.

Myofibers die for several  reasons, although medical studies  have not yet pinpointed the exact  cause of this phenomenon. The  most logical hypothesis appeals  to nerve functions. As nerves die  off, certain areas of the muscle  no longer receive information to  move or flex. When the muscle  "forgets" how to move, it also  loses its ability to respond to  stimuli. This triggers the  myofiber cells to die off, so as  not to waste energy in their  nourishment. It then replaces  them with connective tissue or  fat to maintain overall balance  of mass.