Benefits of Physical Activity on human MusculoSkeletal System

We all know that Bones and Muscles provide, support, stability and movement to the body. Lets look a little deeper on how we can keep them healthy. Muscles and Bones grow over the early part of human life. While Muscles peak somewhere between early to late twenties, the Bones peak between mid twenties to early thirties. From their peak, muscle performance tend to deteriorate for the rest of the life. Similarly, bone mass loss starts from the peak. However the loss in muscle performance and bone mass can be reduced/arrested by regular exercise and right diet.

Here are two categories of exercises.

• Aerobic Exercise - Exercise happens at a rate where the energy needs are met by the oxygen available. It uses energy from fat. Because of sufficient oxygen availability muscles don’t get fatigued. Eg. Running, Brisk Walking, etc,.
• Anaerobic Exercise - Exercise happens at a rate where the energy needs cannot be met by the available oxygen. It uses available glucose, etc(ATP, gycogen) for energy. Muscles get fatigued after a point due to non-availability of oxygen. Weightlifting, Sprinting, etc,.

Here some tips to remember while putting an exercise regimen in place.

• As the exercise puts strain on the muscles, it leads to micro tears in the muscles. They typically take about 48hrs to repair/rebuild. So it is suggested not to repeat excessive strain on the same set of muscles within that period.
• Scale your workouts at a gradual pace, i,e. increase the duration/intensity of workouts gradually.
• Listen carefully to the signals that your body provides as you go through your regimen. Adapt to them or make appropriate adjustments.

Here are some benefits of exercise to the Musculoskeletal system.

• Muscles and Bones are both living tissues that respond to exercise by getting stronger. As you strain them sufficiently, it responds by getting stronger to be able to handle that strain.
• Regular high impact exercises help in strengthening the bones. It creates stresses in the bones that triggers re-mineralization that leads to improved density and strength of bones. Brisk walking, hiking, running/jogging, climbing stairs and dancing are high impact exercises. Comparatively, Swimming and bicycling are not so effective, but they are good for muscles strengthening.
• Regular exercise in the early 1-2 decades of our life is known to reduce the risk of chronic pain in the later part of life.
• Osteoporosis is a condition which is weakening of the bones which leads to fractures in elderly people. It is hereditary. Studies in India show that one in four women in the age of 30-60 have this condition. Increasing the bone mass by 10% through exercises when one is young delays onset of osteoporosis(for those at risk) by more than 10 years.

Inferring...

For adults, regular exercise keeps the muscles performing at optimum while the bone mass is maintained. Regular exercise improves the quality of life in older age as a result. One will be less dependent on others during those years. As the world becomes more a rat race, increasingly young adults may have less time to help their parents unlike how their parents might have helped the grandparents. So think!!

For children, adolescents and youngsters, exercise can help achieve a much better peak muscle performance and bone strength, (than without it) that’ll be very beneficial till much later in their life. So, get your children into a regular & moderate exercise regimen(consult your doctor too…) so that they build their strengths when time is in their favor. Remember that this has to be balanced with their studies.