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Journalism of Courage
Did you know that you are constantly developing new bones and after about every 10 years get an entirely new skeleton? Fascinating, isn’t it? To understand how this process — medically called remodelling — takes place, we reached out to experts who told us that all through human life, the body is continually removing old bones and replacing it with fresh ones.
“So, most of the adult human skeleton is replaced about every 10 years and this remodelling persists throughout life,” Dr R A Purnachandra Tejaswi, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon with Special Interest in Sports Medicine, Reconstructive Arthroscopy and Joint Preservation Surgery, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad told indianexpress.com, adding that about 20% of bone tissue is replaced annually by remodelling.
elucidating further, Dr Vaibhav Bagaria, Director, Department of Orthopaedics, Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital explained that the process of bone remodelling basically comprises two types of cells: osteoblasts and osteoclasts. “Osteoblasts are responsible for building fresh new bone, while its counterpart osteoclasts, are responsible for breaking down the old senescent bone,” he said.
“This process of formation and remodelling is essential for maintaining the strength and structure of our bones,” said Dr Bagaria, further sharing that the purpose of remodelling includes the replacement of old and damaged bone with a new bone and for maintaining ‘calcium homeostasis’.
“Remodelling targets the old and damaged bone and plays a key role in maintaining mechanical strength of bone,” added Dr Tejaswi.
Bones are, essentially, living and growing tissue mostly made up of 2 materials – collagen, a protein that provides soft framework, and calcium minerals that add strength and harden the framework. “This combination makes the bone strong and flexible enough so it can hold up under stress,” Dr Tejaswi said.
As time passes and we grow older, this rate of bone remodelling slows down. “Therefore, it is pivotal to get enough calcium, essential minerals, and vitamin D in one’s diet,” said Dr Bagaria.
Good sources of calcium are dairy products, almonds, broccoli, canned salmon, and soy products.
Activities like walking, running are good for building bone. “They are called weight bearing activities because they use the force of our muscles to put pressure on our bones. The pressure makes the body build up strong bones,” explained Dr Tejaswi.
Adding, Dr Bhagaria said that one can keep their bones strong by exercising regularly and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. “Hormonal changes, nutritional deficiencies, sedentary lifestyle, family history of osteoporosis, certain medical conditions like autoimmune disorders and malabsorption syndromes can affect the bones adversely,” he said.
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that causes the bones to become weak and brittle. “The body constantly absorbs and replaces bone tissue. With osteoporosis, new bone creation doesn’t keep up with old bone removal,” added Dr Tejaswi, further suggesting visiting a healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management of the disease.
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