SCARLETT McNALLY is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and member of the Royal College of Surgeons Council.
We think of bones as a kind of scaffold, but they are actually slightly elastic and can absorb impact – they’re nothing like the brittle lumps of concrete many of us imagine. Bones consist of a cortex – essentially a shell – lined with a honeycomb-type structure that houses the marrow where blood cells are made. Bones also store minerals, such as calcium, for the body. And when we think about bones, we also need to think about joints, as the two systems work together. The most common issues I see are fractures – often the result of osteoporosis – and osteoarthritis, which is not just caused by mechanical wear and tear, but nutritional factors and inflammation. Many bone and joint conditions are preventable, but most of us don’t think about it until our bones break or our joints cause us pain.
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February 2019
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