Skeletal system

Aging is also reflected in the bones and joints. Over time, its "wear" produces limitations in movement and a fragility very typical of elderly people.

Aging is also reflected in the bones and joints. Over time, its "wear" produces limitations in movement and a fragility very typical of elderly people.

The skeletal system is made up of the bones, which provide a point of support for the muscles, as well as protection for vital organs (for example, the skull protects the brain, and the joints, the joints between the bones. Of these there are fixed, that they are only simple unions between two bones (for example, those of the skull), or movable.

Mobile joints are complex structures, since in order for the movement produced by the muscles to be carried out, ligaments are necessary to provide stability, joint fluid to lubricate the structures (produced by the synovial membrane), and cartilage that covers the joint bone to give resistance and flexibility.

Over time there is a decrease in bone density due to a loss of bone calcium, much more evident in women after menopause (due to the decrease in female estrogens), but also present in men, since the balance of bone renewal favors destruction. This process is basically determined by genetic factors but is worsened by a decrease in physical activity (limiting diseases, chronic pain, etc.), unhealthy lifestyles (smoking, poor intake of calcium and other nutrients, excessive alcohol consumption) and the use of certain drugs.

This loss of bone mass makes the bone more fragile, with a higher risk of fracture from minimal trauma in the most extreme cases. This osteopenia occurs with different intensity in the different bones and it is evident that the fragility will not only depend on the degree of involvement of the bone, but also on the forces to which it will be subjected; that is, the loss of density in a phalanx of the fingers of the hand will not have the same importance as in the neck of the femur.

The appearance of joint wear, osteoarthritis, is also very frequent. This wear begins with the dehydration of the articular cartilage, which loses its elastic and trauma-absorbing properties. In this way the cartilage is degrading, tearing and ultimately can disappear. Joint bone thickens and deforms to withstand forces that are no longer absorbed by cartilage. These and other more subtle alterations are responsible for decreased range of motion, pain when performing physical exercise (and sometimes at rest), deformity, and instability and loss of joint function.

The affected joints will depend on the activity that has been had throughout life or on the appearance of overloads and injuries, although a certain genetic predisposition cannot also be denied, especially in certain forms of osteoarthritis, such as osteoarthritis. nodular of the small joints of the fingers of the hands.