(Solved) Application 2 help

Quote from: Tash22 (12 years ago)

(Part Three) Aging
i. Describe how the aging process impacts muscles, joints and bones, especially for someone who has been an athlete like Juan.

Aging Muscles:

As muscles age, they begin to shrink and lose mass. This is a natural process, but a sedentary lifestyle can accelerate it.
The number and size of muscle fibers also decrease. Thus, it takes muscles longer to respond in our 50s than they did in our 20s.
The water content of tendons, the cord-like tissues that attach muscles to bones, decreases as we age. This makes the tissues stiffer and less able to tolerate stress.
Handgrip strength decreases, making it more difficult to accomplish routine activities such as opening a jar or turning a key.
The heart muscle becomes less able to propel large quantities of blood quickly to the body. We tire more quickly and take longer to recover.
The body's metabolic rate (how quickly the body converts food into energy) slows. This can lead to obesity and an increase in "bad" cholesterol levels.

Aging Bones

Throughout life, bones constantly change through a process of absorption and formation called "remodeling." As we age, the balance between bone absorption and bone formation changes, resulting in a loss of bone tissue.

The mineral content of bones decreases, so that bones become less dense and more fragile.
As bones lose mass, osteoporosis develops, affecting both women and men. In the spine, osteoporosis can lead to crush fractures of the vertebrae, resulting in a "dowager's hump."
Osteoporosis is also responsible for almost all hip fractures in older men and women.
The chemistry of cartilage, which provides cushioning between bones, changes. With less water content, the cartilage becomes more susceptible to stress. As cartilage degenerates, arthritis can develop.
Ligaments, connective tissues between bones, become less elastic, reducing flexibility.

Aging Joints

Joint motion becomes more restricted and flexibility decreases with age because of changes in tendons and ligaments.
As the cushioning cartilage begins to break down from a lifetime of use, joints become inflamed and arthritic.

Quote

Part Two: Balance

The vestibular nuclei have collateral pathways that coordinate the cerebellum, the medulla and eye movement. When the person is jumping, the person's balance depends on the fluid imbalance in the inner ear and on visual cues to help maintain his equilibrium. The vestibular nuclei receive impulses from the equilibrium apparatus of the inner ear and help to maintain balance by varying muscle tone of postural muscles...

The general senses are both somatic senses and visceral senses; Special senses are smell, taste, vision, hearing, and equilibrium.

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Application 2 help

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