A4–A5 Responses, Adaptations and Additional Factors GapFill

There are a few intervening factors which dictate the extent to which responses and adaptations to the skeletal system benefit the individual taking part in exercise. On the flip side, exercise can play an important role in offsetting various additional factors and conditions that impact physical activity and sports performance.

Exercise can help offset skeletal diseases and reduce the severity of the impairments these cause. 

•  OsteoporosisRheumatismArthritisPaget's disease is characterised by a reduction of bone mineral density. This makes bones more susceptible to   fracturesstrainsdiseasesprains and naturally occurs with ageing in later life. It can also occur in younger people who suffer from a greater resorption of   potassiumlactatecalciumiron from bones than usual. This can be offset by exercise, which stimulates the uptake of minerals, increasing bone density. A lack of   vitamin Cironvitamin Bvitamin D can also lead to this skeletal disease as it helps increase bone strength.
•  ArthritisPaget's diseaseOsteoporosisStunted bone growth is an inflammatory disorder that occurs in   synovialslightly moveableimmovablecartilaginous joints, which results in swelling and excess fluid surrounding the joint capsule. This often wears away the   bursacartilagebonemuscle between articulating bones and increases the amount of friction at a joint. Symptoms include pain and   bleedingnauseastiffnesslooseness. Exercise results in the production of   synovial fluidoxygenwaterendorphins, which helps lubricate the joint and supply minerals to the cartilage, reducing the friction between articulating bones and thus inflammation at the joint.

Another factor that influences the responses and adaptations of the skeletal system to exercise is age, particularly at a young age, when children are at risk of   stunted bone growtharthritisrheumatismPaget's disease. This occurs during resistance training, when excessive force placed on growing   cartilaginousshortsesamoidlong bones through childhood and into puberty can cause damage to the the epiphyseal (growth) plates.