BONES HEALTH

 

Health Lesson: Learning About Bones

Information on this blog is mapped to national science and health education standards and is for students in grades 4 through 6 who are learning about the human body. Teachers may also use these resources to inform their lesson plans.

For Student

Bones give your body shape, help you move, protect your organs, and more! On this page, you can learn about bones, what happens when they get hurt, and how to keep them healthy?

What are bones?

Bones are the hard, rigid connective tissue that make up the skeleton, providing structural support, protection for organs and enabling movement. They are living tissues, constantly being remodeled and repaired. 

Bones keep your body healthy in many ways. They:

·    Support and hold up your body. Without bones your body would be a squishy blob on the ground.

·    Help you move. Muscles work together with bones to move your body around.

·    Protect your organs. Some bones shield your organs from injury. For example, your ribs protect your heart and lungs, and your skull protects your brain.

        Make blood cells. Some types of bone                have a jelly-like material inside                           called bone marrow (MEH-row). New                blood cells are made inside the bone                  marrow!

·    Store energy. Some types of bone, like the leg bones, contain cells that store fat and release it when your body needs energy.

·    Store minerals and vitamin D. Bones can store minerals like calcium and phosphorus, and vitamin D, and release them when your body needs them.

1.   The periosteum (peh-ree-ow-STEE-uhm) is a thin membrane covering the bone that contains nerves and blood vessels.

    2.   Compact bone is the dense and hard outer layer of the bone that you see when you look at a skeleton.

3.   Cancellous (KAN-suh-luhs) bone is inside the compact bone. It is full of holes and looks a little like a sponge. Bone marrow fills in the holes of the sponge.  

How do bones grow?

Bone tissue is constantly changing in a process called remodeling. All the time, old or damaged bone tissue is broken down, and new bone tissue is made to replace it. When you’re young, new bone is made faster than old bone is broken down, which means that your bones get denser and stronger. In most people, the amount of bone tissue in the skeleton peaks by their mid- to late 20s.

What happens when bones break?

 

Broken bones are also called fractures (FRAK-chrz). The break can go through only part of the bone or completely through it.

It hurts to break a bone! There might also be swelling and bruising. If you are injured and go to the doctor, the doctor may take pictures of your bone with x-rays to see if it is broken. If you do have a broken bone, the doctor may put on a cast, splint, or brace to keep the bone from moving around as it heals, and to make sure it heals correctly. Sometimes, bones move so much when they break that the doctor has to “set the bone”—put it back in the right place before putting a cast, splint, or brace on it.

 

Most broken bones heal within a few months. First, your body forms a blood clot around the break to protect it and deliver the cells that will heal it. Next, a healing zone called a callus (KA-luhs) forms around the break. It joins the bones together. At first, the callus is soft, but it gets harder and stronger as the bone heals.

How can I help keep my bones healthy?

 

Avoid bone injuries.

Wear the right equipment to protect your bones. Always wear a helmet to protect your skull while biking, scootering, skateboarding, or skating. You can also wear elbow and knee pads to protect your arms and legs.

When playing sports like football, soccer, lacrosse, or ice hockey, always wear all the right equipment. Make sure the safety gear fits you, or else it might not do its job.

Exercise.

 

Get plenty of physical activity every day. Your bones respond to exercise by making new bone tissue, which helps keep them strong.

To keep bones healthy, do activities that put weight on your bones. Playing basketball, kickball, walking, jumping rope, and dancing are good examples.

Eat well to keep your bones healthy.

 

Calcium and vitamin D.  Bones are made of a mineral called calcium phosphate? To keep bones strong, you need to get that calcium from food or supplements. You can get calcium from milk, cheese, and yogurt. Leafy green vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale are also important sources of calcium.

Vitamin D helps your body absorb the calcium in the foods you eat. You can get vitamin D from certain foods like eggs, fish, and special types of orange juice, milk, and cereals that have vitamin D added to them.

Eat a balanced diet. Try to eat a combination of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy.  Eating a variety of foods and being active every day helps keep your body healthy and strong. While you need both muscle and fat for your body to work properly, in general, having more healthy muscle tissue helps keep your bones healthy.