| The body is a wonderful system of bony levers and casings, bound together by ligaments, and moved, supported and protected by muscles. Where bones meet there are joints. Most joints are enclosed in a sleeve or capsule of tough, fibrous tissue lined with cells which secrete a special lubricating fluid, synovial fluid. The ends of the bones themselves are covered in a special kind of cartilage, hyaline cartilage, which is smooth and tough, and nourished by the synovial fluid. The fluid and the smooth articulating surfaces of the bones ensure friction-free movement. The largest synovial joints in the body occur at the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee, and between the pelvis and sacrum.
There are other kinds of joints too, though these occur in lesser numbers. The weight-bearing surfaces of the vertebrae, for example, are separated by discs of fibrous cartilage with a tough outside and a softer inside; the vertebrae stack up on each other separated by these shock-absorbing discs. The knee, because it is both load-bearing and freely movable, has a fluid-filled joint capsule with two partial discs of cartilage (menisci) inside it.
Where muscle tendons cross joints, there are special anti-fraying structures called bursae, small fluid-filled sacs of connective tissue; there are bursae above and behind the knee, at the top of the femur and humerus, at the back and front of the elbow, and so on. The knee is unique in having a small shield of bone, the patella, in front of the joint; without it, kneeling would be impossible and the tendon of the quadriceps at the front of the thigh would soon wear through or get nipped in the joint as the knee straightened.
Every joint in the body has its own range of movement - the shoulder has the greatest, followed by the wrist, the head and neck, and the hip. Healthy ligaments check joint movement, keeping it within stable limits. Healthy muscles, whose inelastic tendons insert into bone close to the joints they move, also keep joints within stable limits. An extra-mobile joint, therefore, is not necessarily a healthy one. A hyper-mobile joint in the spine, for example, usually means that other vertebral joints are not as mobile as they should be.
If muscles are weak, giving little stability or protection to a joint, the task of stabilizing and protecting falls entirely on the ligaments and the joint capsule itself. Unlike muscles, ligaments and joint capsules have no contractile powers; they can only stretch. With traumatic or habitual strain the joint becomes inflamed, causing stiffness, pain, swelling, and loss of mobility. It may even dislocate, becoming useless because the fulcrum against which the muscles exert their leverage has fallen apart. If trauma is sudden and severe, ligaments tear, tendons rupture or rip away from their bony moorings, muscle fibres break, and bones fracture. However, most of the muscular aches and pains which take people to their medical doctor, osteopath, chiropractor, physiotherapist or acupuncturist do not have such spectacular causes. They are the result of poor posture, depression, anxiety, occupational demands, lack of exercise, and the slow process of ageing.
Pain and stiffness in joints can be dramatically relieved by steroid (hydrocortisone) injections. The procedure is not particularly pleasant, and repeated injections can actually damage joints, but if all other treatments fail, a single injection should be considered. After an injection, or if a joint has not felt right since an injection, take Ledum 6c every 8 hours for up to 6 doses.
Bone, contrary to popular conception, is one of the most active tissues in the body. It is well supplied with blood vessels, and is continuously repairing and remodelling itself in response to stress and load. Exercise, and sufficient calcium and Vitamin D in the diet, encourage growth, maintenance, and repair. In fact calcium is continually swapped between the bones and the blood in order to keep sufficient calcium in the blood for nerves and muscles to function properly. In an adult, the manufacture of blood components - red and white blood cells, and platelets - is carried out in the marrow inside the vertebrae, breastbone, ribs, pelvis, and heads of the humerus and femur. |
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