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Start taking better care of your bones and joints today! FirstLine Therapy® can help. For more information click here or to find a certified FirstLine Therapy practitioner near you, click here.

Bone and Joint Health

The bone and joint decade (2002-2011)

Every time you get in your car or turn on the TV, your musculoskeletal system goes to work. Our ability to move freely is so natural that most of us take our musculoskeletal system (our bones, joints, and surrounding soft tissues) for granted—until it’s too late. Perhaps that’s why musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoporosis and arthritis affect the quality of life of one out of three Americans and cost billions of dollars annually in terms of medical care and lost productivity. It’s predicted that by 2050, half of all Americans over age 50 will suffer from weak bones unless we change our dietary habits and lifestyles.1

Worldwide, musculoskeletal conditions are the most common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability. The global implications are so pervasive that 2002 through 2011 is being called “the bone and joint decade”.

Popular misconceptions about bones

Say the word “bone” and most people think of a skeleton hanging in their doctors’ offices. But unlike the brittle, dry material we typically think of, our bones are actually living tissues that require lifelong care and nourishment.

Throughout our lives, our bones are constantly undergoing a process called remodeling, in which old bone tissue is broken down, removed, and replaced by new bone tissue. The rate of bone loss and renewal varies depending on a person’s age.

  • From birth through age 20, new bone formation exceeds bone loss.
  • By age 30, we achieve “peak bone mass”—the stage at which our bones are at their largest and most dense.
  • After age 30, the rate of bone loss begins to exceed bone formation. Osteoporosis, the most common bone disease, occurs when bone loss occurs too quickly or replacement occurs too slowly, causing bones to become fragile and more prone to breakage.

Taking good care of your bones

Unfortunately, because it happens slowly and silently, most people don’t even know their bones are weak until they suffer a fracture. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to dramatically slow the rate of bone loss, and in some cases, even improve your bone density. You can:

  • Increase your intake of dietary calcium. Green, leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds; whole, fresh foods; and select dairy products are good sources of calcium, a major component of bone.
  • Supplement your healthy diet with Vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, trace minerals, and other organic components important for complete bone nourishment.
  • Avoid excess alcohol and caffeine. Both lower the amount of calcium in your body and may impede bone formation.
  • Quit smoking. Tobacco use is associated with weak bones.
  • Avoid aluminum cookware and antacids that contain aluminum. Aluminum can displace calcium in the body.

Do weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, biking, aerobics, or weight-lifting. Weight bearing exercise helps bones become stronger, builds muscle, and helps with balance, reducing the risk of falls and fractures.

Your soft tissues and joints need care, too

Arthritis is the nation’s leading cause of disability among Americans over age 15. It occurs when the soft tissues in your joints become inflamed and painful. Although it refers to over 100 different diseases that affect the areas in or around the joints, the two most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

  • Osteoarthritis (OA) affects cartilage, the tissue that cushions the ends of bones within the joint. It most typically affects the fingers, knees, and hips and can cause joint pain and stiffness. OA is the most common form of arthritis.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease affecting the synovium, or lining of the joint. Persons with RA often experience pain, stiffness, swelling, joint damage, and loss of function of the joints.
  • Other common forms of arthritis include gout, bursitis, tendonitis, and fibromyalgia.

Note: Pain and inflammation can signal a wide range of health conditions besides arthritis, so it’s best to consult with your healthcare practitioner before beginning any treatment regimen.

Although arthritis can affect people of all ages, adults age 65 or older have the highest risk of developing arthritis (58.8 percent). Additionally, women (37.3 percent) have a higher risk of arthritis than men (28.4 percent). As our population ages, the number of people age 65 and older who have arthritis or chronic joint symptoms is projected to nearly double in the next 20 years, from 21.4 million in 2001 to 41.4 million.2

What you can do now

Taking preventive measures is the first step in managing the health of your joints and soft tissues. To keep your joints and soft tissues healthy, you can:

  • Get regular exercise. Exercise helps joints by strengthening muscle and improving flexibility and mobility. It also improves your balance, reducing your risk of injury and inflammation.
    Note: before beginning an exercise program, it is wise to have a physical and get your healthcare provider’s approval. Individuals with certain conditions such as excessive obesity, chest pain, recent heart attack, severe valvular heart disease, irregular heartbeat, uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure greater than 180/100 (even with medication), acute illness, or resting heart rate over 110 should not begin an exercise program without their healthcare practitioner’s approval.
  • Eat a healthier diet. Eating a healthier diet will help you lose weight, and maintaining a healthy weight means less pressure on your joints, especially your hips, knees, back, and feet.
  • Take quality supplements. Concentrated levels of certain natural compounds, including glucosamine and chondroitin and others, may promote soft tissue formation and protect against cartilage degradation.
  • Manage stress. Learning stress management techniques such as guided imagery, yoga, medication, and deep breathing exercises can help reduce physical and emotional tension and alleviate arthritis-related pain, anxiety, and depression.

FirstLine Therapy®—Better health now and for a lifetime

FirstLine Therapy (FLT) is a therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) program developed to help you address the underlying causes of disease and lead a healthier, more vibrant life. The basic principles of FLT—healthy eating, regular exercise, nutritional supplementation, and stress management—are the foundation upon which you and your healthcare practitioner can build a program tailored to your specific needs.

Start taking better care of your bones and joints today! For more information about FirstLine Therapy® or to find a certified FirstLine Therapy practitioner near you, click here.

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REFERENCES 

  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Surgeon General. The 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis: What It Means to You, p1.
  2. Hootman JM, Helmick CG. Projections of US prevalence of arthritis and associated activity limitations. Arthritis and Rheumatism 2006;54(1):226–29 as cited on http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/national_data_nhis.htm#future