Bone Health

At birth, your body has about 300 bones! They are quite small, but they grow and even merge together as you age.

By the time you reach adulthood, you have 206 bones as a result of smaller bones fusing together. Many of these bones are in your hand and feet. Our bones serve to both support our body’s movement as well as protect many of our crucial organs.

How Do Bones Grow and Develop?

Our bones contain growth plates made up of multiplying cartilage cells that allow the bone to grow and expand, with it hardening into a solid bone. This happens at a similar rate to the development of your muscles.

As a baby, a number of your bones are made exclusively of cartilage. For an idea of what this soft and flexible material is like, feel your ear – it’s made entirely of cartilage. Thanks to calcium, the cartilage on your bones are able to solidify with growth.

Between the age of 17 to 25 this process is usually complete. This is also when you reach your peak height. However, your bones will continue to gain mass, often reaching peak bone mass between the ages of 25 and 30.

27 bones in a single hand (including your wrist)

26 bones in a single foot

14%

of our body weight, on average, is the weight of our bones

1 in 5

women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis

Why Do Muscles and Bones Deteriorate with Age?

Calcium: As you age your body may begin to reabsorb calcium from your bones. This is why adequate calcium and vitamin D consumption is so important.

Hormonal Changes: Estrogen in women plays an important role in protecting their bones. When women reach menopause and estrogen decreases, it can accelerate bone deterioration.

Lack of Physical Activity: A sedentary lifestyle can make our bones weak. It is like the classic saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it” when it comes to the strength of your bones.

Do women's bones deteriorate faster?

Women often experience bone deterioration earlier. Bone deterioration occurs at a similar pace and time as a woman’s decline in estrogen. This early decline may be a contributing factor in why 80% of osteoporosis patients are women. By age 65 both men’s and women’s bones are deteriorating at a similar pace.

What Can I do to Keep my Bones Healthy?

Calcium

Supplement calcium or consume calcium rich foods, such as cheese or yogurt.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D from the sun, food, or supplements plays a crucial role in keeping our body absorbing calcium into our bones efficiently.

Perform Weight-Bearing Exercise Regularly

Weight-bearing exercises, including walking and jogging, can be great ways to keep your bones strong.

Stop Smoking

Smoking weakens your bones, among other health complications.

What is Osteoporosis?

Your bones constantly break down and are replaced because they are made of living tissue. Someone who has osteoporosis experiences a regular breakdown of bones – but their regrowth is too slow. This causes the bone to develop a weak interior.

Someone with osteoporosis will have their bones “hollow out.” This creates a sponge-like appearance when viewing the inside of the bone. These hollowed-out regions of the bone are the result of missing tissue and the key reason why the bones are no longer as strong as they were before.

When someone has osteoporosis their bones can become so brittle that a fall or even a hard cough could cause a bone to break. This most frequently happens in the hip, wrist, or spine.

How is Osteoporosis diagnosed?

Most people do not know they have osteoporosis until they break a bone. There are rarely any symptoms prior. However, there are “bone density scans” that can help diagnose osteoporosis. If you are over the age of 65 or have a history of osteoporosis in your family, talk to your provider about being tested.