Table of contents:
- What causes calcification?
- Why do many elderly people experience calcification?
- Are there other factors that can cause calcification?
You may often see elderly people (seniors) who have difficulty walking and getting out of a chair or bed, so the elderly need help with their activities. Elderly people are a group at risk of experiencing pengapapura, where the joints feel stiff so that movement is limited. This calcification is common in old age, especially in women.
What causes calcification?
Many people confuse calcification with bone loss. Many of you think that calcification occurs due to the loss of minerals in the bones, when in fact it is not because of that.
Diseases caused by loss of bone mineral are known as bone loss or osteoporosis. Meanwhile, calcification or in medical language is called osteoarthritis due to the aging process that attacks the joints, especially those that support weight, such as the knees, hips, back, neck, and joints in the fingers.
In old age, the joints usually become stiff and less flexible, and the fluid in the joints also decreases. In a normal joint, cartilage or cartilage covers each end of the bone which functions as a cushion for the bone. In addition, the synovial membrane produces sufficient synovial fluid as a lubricant, this fluid is useful for maintaining cartilage function so that friction between the bones is reduced and the joints work smoothly. However, it is different for people who suffer from calcification.
In calcification, the cartilage is damaged, causing pain, swelling, and movement problems in the joints. The synovial fluid in the joint is reduced so that adjacent bones are no longer adequately lubricated and cause inflammation. The inflammatory process that occurs can cause the cartilage to rub against each other. Eventually, the cartilage thins so that there is no bearing between the bones, causing damage to the joints and causing pain. This is why those of you who suffer from calcification often feel pain in the bones and movement is limited.
Why do many elderly people experience calcification?
The biggest risk factor that can cause calcification is age. According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), many people develop symptoms of osteoarthritis by the age of 70. Although those of you who are younger can get osteoarthritis, in general, this disease only appears when you get older.
Younger people can usually develop osteoarthritis due to trauma, such as from a sports injury or accident, or it could be due to family ancestry. Yes, this disease can be inherited, it could be from parents, grandparents, or siblings.
The longer you live, of course the more activities you carry out and the more functions your limbs have performed. It's no wonder, then, that the older you are, the weaker your limbs will be. The movements produced by older people are also not as fast as those of younger people.
In addition, the soft tissue in the joint pads that help the movement of bones will gradually disappear with age. The strength of the muscles and bones is also weak, so the work he does is more difficult and heavier. Age changes the bone and muscle systems so that cells, including cells in joint tissue, occur aging.
Are there other factors that can cause calcification?
Apart from age, there are other factors that can cause calcification of the joints, namely:
- Family history. Liming can occur due to heredity. If you have a family that has osteoarthritis or calcification, your risk for developing the same disease is greater.
- Being overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese makes you put more stress on your joints, cartilage, and bones, especially on your knees. This makes your knees susceptible to calcification and limits your ability to move.
- Gender. Overall, more women than men experience calcification at old age. After the age of 55, women are more likely to suffer from calcification than men of the same age. This is associated with reduced estrogen in women after menopause.
- Profession. Jobs, such as construction and agriculture, also increase your risk of calcification. Jobs that use more physical work put their joints in more work, allowing the joints to become calcified faster than people who work at desks.
