Our Bones are Alive !

Our Bones are Alive !

THE PROCESS OF RESORPTION OF BONES

Bones is a living and growing tissue. Bone tissue consists, in large part, of intercellular substance called "bone matrix", consisting mainly of calcium and phosphorus which give bone its hardness, plus organic collagen fibers which give it flexibility and strength. Throughout life, bone is constantly being renewed in a process called resorption/ remodelling. There are two main cells which involve in the process which is osteoclast and osteoblast. During resorption, old bone is removed by osteoclast and it is replaced with fresh new bones by the osteblast. Bone building occurs when more bone is laid down than removed. Bone mass is maintained when bone formation equals bone removal. Bone loss occurs when more bone is removed than replaced. The main goal in preventing osteoporosis is to minimise bone loss by modulating the activity of the osteoclast, while supporting robust osteoblast, or bone-building activity. To a large extent, this dance is hormonally controlled - so at midlife it becomes more of a challenge to keep the remodelling process running smoothly.