Moving Free: Your Bones & the Eiffel Tower
Posted on May 2, 2013 by bob in Moving Free
I first became interested in bones as a young dancer (about 200,000 years ago, in the Mid Paleolithic era). I was studying body alignment, fascinated with the skeleton and the remarkable living tissue that makes up our bones, intrigued by the intricate architectural structure of bone. There’s the smooth, hard shell on the outside called cortical bone, and the amazing crisscrossed, honeycomb-like structure on the inside called trabecular bone. The combination of cortical and trabecular bone make our skeletons strong, light, flexible and efficient. The structure of trabecular bone is the secret ingredient.
The trabecular bracing structure is located at precisely the correct angles to absorb the maximum force. When you jump over a puddle or run for a bus, it’s the trabecular bracing that directs the force to the strongest part of your skeleton and prevents a bone from breaking. Most of us aren’t aware of our beautiful bone structure, but it hasn’t gone unnoticed or un-utilized.
The structure of trabecular bone was copied by the French bridge builder Gustave Eiffel, who wanted to build the tallest man-made structure in the world. When he built the Eiffel Tower in 1889, he calculated the positioning of the braces in the curves of the legs to direct any force on the structure, like high winds, to the strongest area; the four legs. This is why the Eiffel Tower continues to stand the test of time. That’s fine for an iron tower. If part of it becomes weakened you can see it and fix it. But what happens to weakened or damaged areas of our skeletons?
Our bones are pretty smart. They don’t grow to adult size and stop, but constantly get rid of old, weakened bone tissue and replace it with new, healthy bone. It’s a process called remodeling, where weakened areas are broken down and replaced with well-formed tissue.
Our bodies replace about 10% of our bone each year. In bones with osteoporosis, this remodeling process is out of whack. Those sturdy crisscrossed structures disappear and bones get weak and start to fracture. Fractures occur most often where there is the most trabecular bone.
The spine is about 90% trabecular bone. So the vertebrae start to squash under the weight of the torso. The thighbone at the hip is about 50% trabecular bone. So it can break just stepping off a curb.The wrist is about 25% trabecular bone and it will likely break if you put out your hands to catch yourself in a fall. There’s a lot you can do to prevent osteoporosis and maintain bone health.
Weight bearing exercise like walking, jogging, aerobic dance and weight resistance training, stimulate the remodeling process and promote bone growth.
Exercise should be site-specific. Do weight-bearing and resistance exercises for the whole body, paying special attention to the areas most at risk; the spine, the hip, and the wrist. Calcium and Vitamin D are also important. You can learn more on the National Osteoporosis Foundation’s website at http://www.nof.org/.
Your bones are living tissue. Take care of them and they’ll take care of you.
Mirabai Holland M.F.A., a leading authority in the Health & Fitness industry and a public health activist, specializes in preventive and rehabilitative exercise. Her Moving Free® approach to exercise is designed to provide a movement experience so pleasant it doesn’t feel like work (www.mirabaiholland.com).
