How active are you?
Physical activity on a routine basis is an important component of successful ageing. It has been shown that many age-related declines in musculoskeletal function can be markedly reduced by moving …
Course: The Musculoskeletal System: The Science of Staying Active into Old Age
Social aspects of musculoskeletal ageing
In this article, we explore how musculoskeletal ageing impacts not only the individual affected but the people around them too; families, friends, colleagues and the wider society. The consequences of …
How does the way we walk change with age?
Gait disturbances are a common medical problem in old age. After the age of 70, 35% of people have abnormal gait and after 85, gait changes are found in the …
Ageing joints and osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects the joints. Cartilage covering the ends of the bones gradually roughens and becomes thin, preventing the joint from moving as smoothly as it should. …
How do our tendons age?
Tendon disorders Chronic tendon disorders are highly incapacitating and increasingly frequent, accounting for a third of all primary-care musculoskeletal consultations in the UK. Increasing age has been demonstrated as a …
How do our muscles age?
By the age of 70, a person has lost on average 40 – 50% of the muscle strength that they had when they were younger. This loss of muscle mass, …
Ageing bone and osteoporosis
In this video, Professor Eugene McCloskey from the University of Sheffield discusses how bones change with age and a common age-related bone condition, osteoporosis. Bone strength decreases with age and …
How do our bones age?
What is bone? Bone is a living tissue that is constantly remodelling itself. The human skeleton continues to develop after reaching an adult height and the highest bone mass (density) …
Why do we age?
Ageing can be described as a progressive loss of function accompanied by decreasing fertility and increasing mortality. Such a trait that impairs survival and fertility is clearly bad for the …
How can we measure walking gait?
Maintaining a healthy gait is an important part of ageing well, and our ability to measure and describe its characteristics can help us to better understand how to do this. …
What happens when we walk?
Walking requires the coordination of many aspects of the musculoskeletal system in conjunction with other systems such as the neurological system. In this video, we join Professor Robin Crompton in …
What is the musculoskeletal system?
In this video, Lesley Iwanejko introduces the key components and functions of the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is made up of bones, muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments which all …
These articles are from the online course:
The Musculoskeletal System: The Science of Staying Active into Old Age