This article is from our support group newsletter. Just wanted to share...
Keep Stress from Weakening Your Bones
by Woody McMahon
Stress and Your Bones
A high stress lifestyle has always been suspected as one of the contributing causes of osteoporosis and other major health problems. Continued high stress levels can also lead to depression or depressive behaviors. Now, recent studies have indicated people with major depression have a lower bone mass density compared to non-depressed individuals. Other studies have found that an
extended loss of social interactions and pleasurable activities may have an impact on bone density as well. In light of these findings, it is important to consider two important trends.
First, stress appears to be more important than once thought in the healthy functioning of your bones. Second, depression should be considered as another important risk factor for osteoporosis.
Definition of Depression
By definition, depression is a mental condition affecting your mood, thought
process and physical functioning. It is characterized by a range of negative
feelings such as sadness, loneliness, anger, despair, fatigue, and guilt as
well as loss of energy and low self-esteem. Depression may cause you to lose
interest in many aspects of life and no longer find pleasure in activities and
relationships. Depressive thoughts can cause physical changes in your body that
include various pain syndromes and other medical conditions.
The Chemical Cascade Affecting Bone
What is really happening inside your body as the result of high stress living
and how does it affect bones? Constant stress promotes an unhealthy
hormone shift increasing cortisol and reducing serotonin levels. Higher
cortisol levels increase total body inflammation decreasing calcium absorption
and increased calcium excretion. Osteoblasts (bone-building cells) are reduced
in number impairing the bones ability to renew which is essential to
maintaining normal bone density.
The Bone / Brain Connection
The depressed brain sends different signals to your internal organs and
bones than a healthy brain. The brain uses the sympathetic nervous system
to increase the secretion of a chemical compound called noradrenalin within
the bone. Noradrenalin literally has a depressive effect on the osteoblasts. The
interleukin-1 protein, which has been known for many years as a stimulator of
the immune system, increases the number and activity of osteoclastic cells
(bone break-down cells). Stress causes less bone to be created and more
bone to be destroyed resulting in osteoporosis.
Bone Balance Destroyed
Chronic stress can now be physiologically traced as a significant player in
the creation of osteoporotic bones. By reducing the ability of the osteoblasts
to form new bone and speeding the osteoclasts into bone breakdown, the
natural balance of bone growth and repair is altered. Effective osteoporosis
treatments must consider stress reduction so bone formation and repair
can return to normal.
Consider a New Direction for Your Healthy Bones
In light of these recent discoveries it's not enough to just discuss diet,
exercise, supplements and medication for the treatment of osteoporosis. The
research indicates that effective treatment programs for healthy bones must
include mechanisms to reduce the negative effects of stress on your body.
Reducing the negative effects of stress on your body helps the cells
responsible for healthy bones begin to function normally once again. In a
nutshell, the time spent promoting good mental wellbeing is as important as
that spent on good physical health.
Edited October 2, 2009 at 8:30 am
Okay, so I'm a year out of treatment for breast cancer, my husband is in treatment for cancer.
I was laid off in February, found and started a new job, and my 19-yr-old just totalled our paid-up car.
I'm trying meditation, but there's only so much you can do with stress!