Posted by My project will cover how high-impact exercises affect postmenopausal women, older men, joints, and bone density. Specifically, how bone repairs and develops with high-impact exercises and how it affects osteoporosis in older men and postmenopausal women. I am using paint as my artistic medium to show a visual representation of healthy joints and bone density along with unhealthy joints and bone density.
Osteoporosis affects roughly 200 million women around the world. Osteoporotic fractures happen about every three seconds, and vertebral fractures every 22 seconds. (Basat 2013) Most of the current osteoporosis studies are done on postmenopausal women, and very few of them are done on men. (Lu 2023) Most fractures caused by osteoporosis occur in the hip, vertebrae, and wrist. These fractures increase as a person ages. Hip fractures are the most serious and most common of these three fractures. About 20% of hip fractures are found in older men, and the rest are found in women. Vertebral fractures in men are roughly equal to vertebral fractures in women. As we have learned in class, osteoporosis is a disease characterized by a decrease in bone mass, which occurs when the bone resorption rate exceeds the bone formation rate. (Anatomy and Physiology 2e Ch 6.6 Pg 217) In class, we also discussed how exercise, resistance training to be exact, can be used to slow down the eventual bone loss due to aging, preventing osteoporosis. (Anatomy and Physiology 2e Ch 6.6 Pg215) Most high-impact exercises I read focused on bone mineral density (BMD) in older men and postmenopausal women. This is because BMD is one of the main factors in the development of osteoporosis. Lu and Basat’s research proved that high-impact exercises significantly improve BMD and reduce risk factors in older men and postmenopausal women.
High-impact exercises put stress on bones. This stress can stimulate extra calcium deposits and push bone-forming cells into action. When bones experience the pushing and tugging that happens when we exercise, it results in stronger, denser bones. (Harvard Health 2021) Stronger, denser bones can manage or even prevent the onset of osteoporosis altogether. High-impact exercises also reduce the rate of bone loss, which can help prevent fractures that put osteoporotic patients at risk. Fracture healing is the most common form of bone repair. It is characterized by several overlapping stages: inflammation, soft callus, cartilage turnover (replacement by bony callus), and bone remodeling. (Hu 2016) As we age, we want to promote bone repair and regeneration. For bones to repair and regenerate, we need osteoprogenitor and immune inflammatory cells and a scaffold that creates the deposition of the bone matrix, signaling molecules, blood supply, and mechanical stability.
Synovial joints are the most affected by osteoporosis. Synovial joints enable the greatest range of motion in our body. When one is fractured because of osteoporosis, it can limit one’s movement and overall daily function. According to Sun, they found that high-impact exercises increased collagenase and gelatinase in both NS101 cells and MH7A cells. (Sun 2004) Essentially, high-impact exercises put more pressure on the synovial joints, resulting in mixed results in Sun’s study. I could not determine if high-impact exercises resulted in any benefit in preventing the degrading of synovial joints because of osteoporosis.
Overall, high-impact exercises have a lot of benefits. It can help prevent and manage osteoporosis, create stronger, denser bones, and promote bone repair and regeneration. The only thing high-impact exercises may or may not benefit is synovial joint deterioration. From the studies we have found, high-impact exercises, or rather exercise as a whole, is extremely beneficial to bone health and should be a regular activity added to a person’s daily schedule.
Citations
Basat, Hande, et al. “The effects of strengthening and high-impact exercises on bone metabolism and quality of life in postmenopausal women: A randomized controlled trial.” Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, vol. 26, no. 4, 2013, pp. 427–435, https://doi.org/10.3233/bmr-130402.
Donos, Nikolaos, et al. “Bone Regeneration in Implant Dentistry: Which Are the Factors Affecting the Clinical Outcome?” Periodontology 2000, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Aug. 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37615306/#:~:text=The%20key%20factors%20that%20are,blood%20supply%2C%20and%20mechanical%20stability.
“Slowing Bone Loss with Weight-Bearing Exercise.” Harvard Health, 11 Apr. 2021, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/slowing-bone-loss-with-weight-bearing-exercise#:~:text=Activities%20that%20put%20stress%20on,result%20is%20stronger%2C%20denser%20bones.
Sun, Irene, et al. “Effects of High-Impact Mechanical Loading on Synovial Cell Cultures.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Mar. 2004, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3896112/.
Lu, Xiaoqin, et al. “Effects of exercise on bone mineral density in middle-aged and older men: A comprehensive meta-analysis.” Archives of Osteoporosis, vol. 18, no. 1, 7 Aug. 2023, p. 108, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-023-01317-8.
This steam project is about osteoporosis in postmenstrual women and older men. This short essay first goes into the statistical differences in bone health between older men and women. It shares the definition of osteoporosis from the human anatomy textbook, which deepens the reader’s understanding of osteoporosis before the writer talks about preventing the disease. The writer states the best way to prevent osteoporosis is through high-impact exercises because this can trigger bone-forming cells and calcium deposits. Afterward, the bone healing process is explained through steps such as inflammation, callus, turnover, and remodeling. This is explained because fractures are a common cause of osteoporosis in older generations. To summarize, high-impact exercises are said to prevent osteoporosis and fractures due to increasing bone strength. The art piece for the project was the knee and the hipbone which are both synovial joints and as said previously are the most likely to be affected by osteoporosis. The writer says that she could not determine the benefits of high-impact exercises on synovial joints in one of her articles cited. I understand this as. The citations used are all accessible and peer-reviewed. The art piece shows how osteoporosis breaks down the bone and is creative, precise, and well-drawn. In the art piece, the cartilage is labeled however, it is not talked about in the writing piece besides the cartilage turnover in the healing steps of fractures. Overall it was a great writing piece that can be read by the general public and be able to understand the concepts.