Published on: 11/5/2015IST

Maintaining healthy bones and muscles as you age is extremely important in preventing debilitating conditions like fractures and osteoporosis, especially for women. Bone density is the greatest when you are in your 20s, but after that you begin to lose bone mass, making your bones weaker and more susceptible to damage. “While there is nothing you can do to prevent this from happening, there are certain lifestyle choices that can accelerate bone loss and muscles damage”, Dr Anil Arora, Head of Department of Orthopedics, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Delhi. Here the expert discusses common habits that damage the health of your bones:

1. Alcohol abuse

Occasional drink is just fine, consistently drinking more than one to two drinks per week can lead to a loss of 2% of your bone mass over a year’s time. Alcohol interferes with the absorption of both calcium and vitamin D, both of which are necessary for bone formation. In addition, excessive consumption of alcohol destroys osteoblasts, the bone-making cells.

2. Cigarette smoking

The ingredients in cigarette smoke interfere with the natural cycle of bone health. Smoking hinders the formation of healthy new bone and it also causes existing bone tissue to break down more rapidly. As a result, bones become weak and brittle.

3. Lack of physical activities

Combining too much eating with no or little exercise is a recipe for disaster. Lack of physical exercise weakens our muscles and exposes them to physical injuries. For promoting healthy bones the recommended amount of exercise is 30 minutes of weight-bearing workout, five days a week.

4. Deficiency of Vitamin D and calcium

In vitamin D deficiency, calcium absorption cannot be increased enough to satisfy the body’s needs. Consequently, calcium is mobilized from the skeleton to maintain normal serum calcium levels, resulting in bone loss.

5. Drinking too much caffeine

Excess caffeine consumption is associated with lower bone density. Caffeine causes your kidneys to excrete calcium from your body, lowering the amount of calcium available to the bones for rebuilding.

6. Over consumption of soda

Phosphoric acid in soda flushes calcium out of the body and it has been linked to lower bone density in those who drink three or more sodas a day.

7. Accidents and fractures

Accidents cause tearing of muscles and bone fractures. When a bone breaks; it may crack, snap, or shatter. After a fracture, new bone cells fill the gap and repair the break. Applying a strong plaster cast, which keeps the bone in the correct position until it heals, is the usual treatment. If the fracture is complicated, metal pins and plates can be placed to better stabilise it while the bone heals.

8. Muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is an inherited group of diseases that affect the muscles, causing them to weaken and break down over time. The most common form in childhood is called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and it most often affects boys.

9. Repetitive stress injuries

RSIs are a group of injuries that happen when too much stress is placed on a part of the body, resulting in inflammation (pain and swelling), muscle strain, or tissue damage. Playing sports like tennis that involve repetitive motions can also lead to RSIs.

10. Tendonitis

This common sports injury that usually happens after over exercising a muscle.

11. Aging changes in the bones - muscles - joints

Changes in the muscles, walking patterns, joints and bones affect the posture and walk, and lead to weakness and slowed movement.

12. Medical disorders

Many long-term (chronic) medical conditions can keep people confined to a bed or chair. This keeps the muscles and bones in their hips and spines from being used or bearing any weight. Not being able to walk or exercise may lead to bone loss and fractures.

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