Healthy bones are an integral part of everyday life that we sometimes take for granted. Our bones provide the framework for our everyday functions such as sitting, walking, running and simple movements like holding a fork to eat. Our bones also have some amazing functions. They house our bone marrow and make the essential red blood cells that carry our oxygen as well as the white blood cells that are responsible for our immune system. What most people don’t know is that our bones also store 99% of our bodies calcium with only 1% in our bloodstream.
Since bones carry the weight of our body they must remain strong and undergo a rigorous remodeling function where the bone is constantly in a state of breakdown and repair. But in order to have the necessary remodeling potential, the proper building blocks must be available. For the bone, these building blocks are calcium and vitamin D. Think of the bone as a bank whose primary revenue is calcium. Just like your bank, that constantly circulates money into society for the purpose of survival, the bone does the same with calcium. Calcium plays a major role in bodily functions like skeletal muscle and heart contractions. In order to do this, there is a withdrawal from the bank; i.e. the bone. However, we normally put money into our bank to sustain a healthy bank account. Just like our bank, the bone also needs deposits to maintain a healthy supply of calcium. When we go to our bank we drive as a means of transportation. The bone is similar in that it to requires a transport to get calcium into the bone and it’s vehicle is Vitamin D.
Without Vitamin D the bones bank of calcium becomes low and the bone loses the necessary integrity to support the body’s needs, which results in bone pain or known as a stress fracture. I think we all complain when we don’t have enough money in the bank! Ironically, 70% of our population is Vitamin D deficient!
Stress fractures can be seen in people who overload their bones, like long-distance runners, or in those who simply have a very low calcium bank account due to vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency can be detected by a simple clinical examination with a good set of x-rays and then confirmed by checking a vitamin D level. The treatment is also very easy and is based on the current Vitamin D level. There are a number of reasons that a bone can hurt but with my help, Vitamin deficiency will not be one of them. Make an appointment today so that I can help you maintain a healthy bone bank account.
