運動・スポーツと骨・関節障害

Impact of exercise and sports on bone and joint. The effects of exercise and sports activities on bone and joint morbidities.

　骨・関節組織にとって運動やスポーツによる力学的負荷は，その健康な状態を保つのに必要なものであり，骨粗鬆症や変形性関節症などの骨・関節障害に対する治療においても，運動療法は重要な要素となる。しかし一方で，過度の負荷は組織の破綻に伴うオーバーユース障害をきたすこともある。特に高齢者においては，既存の骨・関節障害のため，運動負荷の安全域が狭くなっている。運動療法やスポーツを行う前のメディカルチェックと，その結果に基づいて適切な運動負荷の種類と強度の決定を行うことが重要である。

　Exercise and sports activities can afford mechanical stimuli to the bone and joint tissues which are required to maintain the tissue properties. Moreover, physical exercise is an important part of the management of bone and joint morbidities such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and low back pain. On the other hand, excessive mechanical load involved in exercise and sports activities can be harmful potentially causing overuse injuries of the musculoskeletal tissues. Especially, safety margin for the amount of acceptable mechanical stress is narrow in the elderly due to preexisting musculoskeletal problems. Preparticipation medical checkup and construction of appropriate exercise program based on the physical assessment are mandatory to prevent overload applied to the bone and joint tissues.