About Bone Thinning:
Bones are a very important component of the body and a healthy bone structure ensures a healthier and safer old age. Though bones are one of the foundational features of the body, yet over time as we age, the quality of the bones start to deteriorate. This change in the bone strength can also be referred to as bone thinning or decreasing bone mineral density. These changes of bone thinning are common to all our bodies, but the knowledge of when do bones begin to thin helps us gain better perspective at an early age. Once the bone mineral density or the bone strength is lost, it is extremely hard or impossible to gain back the same; therefore, it is essential that we realize when do our bones begin to thin, and when such a deterioration starts and how worse does it get as we age further.
When Do Bones Begin to Thin?
Bones in Children
Like all the cells and tissues in the body, the cells and tissues in the bones are also renewed constantly. This process of renewal of the tissues and the removal of the old tissues of the bones is done by certain cells known as osteoblasts. When we are young, osteoblasts are in abundant and much more active in nature thus causing the bones to grow continually.
Bones in your 20s
In the early 20s, the bones stop growing and start to thicken instead. Therefore during the age of 25- 30 years, the bone mineral density is at its peak. But as we age further and head towards the decade of 30s, this strength in bones starts losing and this is when the bones begin to thin.
Bones in Your 30s
It is basically during the age of 33- 35 years that the balance shifts causing the osteoblasts to decrease and the osteoclasts (cells which absorb bone tissue) to increase. As the bone tissue loss becomes greater than the tissue gained, the bone thinning starts.
Bones in Women Going Through Menopause
A normal of 1% to 2% of bone is lost each year after this milestone. In case of menopause stage of women, the bone thinning or bone loss may peak upto 4% to 5% per year and then gradually come back to the normal annual range.
The Affects of Your Lifestyle on Your Bone Health
The bone loss may vary for each person owing to their habits and lifestyles. Smoking for one causes extreme bone loss and regular exercise on the other hand aids less loss of the bone tissues. There may be many other factors which can affect bone thinning too.
Finally, Diseases of the Bone
Bone thinning appears to be a problem because it is this continuous reduction in the bone mineral density that makes the bones more fragile and hence more prone to fractures. If the bones are worsening at a fast rate, this bone thinning can lead to osteopenia and finally to osteoporosis too.
Conclusion
Since the importance and the working of our skeletal system have been understood through the facts stated above, it is essential that you maintain a healthy lifestyle for your bones. You should venture into regular bone mineral density checks after every five years too. It is best to be aware of the situation beforehand and work towards the same.
- National Osteoporosis Foundation. (2021). What Is Osteoporosis? https://www.nof.org/patients/what-is-osteoporosis/
- National Institute on Aging. (2021). Osteoporosis. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/osteoporosis
- Watts, N. B. (2004). Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Clinical Review. Journal of Women’s Health, 13(4), 441-458. doi: 10.1089/154099904323016448
- Weaver, C. M., Gordon, C. M., Janz, K. F., Kalkwarf, H. J., Lappe, J. M., Lewis, R., … & Zemel, B. S. (2016). The National Osteoporosis Foundation’s position statement on peak bone mass development and lifestyle factors: a systematic review and implementation recommendations. Osteoporosis International, 27(4), 1281-1386. doi: 10.1007/s00198-015-3440-3
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