A single step is all it might take.
Not running, climbing, biking or lifting weights. All you need to do is step forward a few inches and your Achilles tendon can pop.
We seem to say this a lot, but as we age, we’re far more likely to suffer from tendon issues, ranging from tendinosis (a serious condition where tendons become irritated and have a hard time healing) to full tears that can completely put us out of commission.
We’re not talking about “old” people, either. This is folks in their 40’s who are having these issues. Why is that? Can anything be done to keep tendons young and prevent injuries?
Previous research had shown that tendon cells change shape under compressive forces, becoming tougher and more like the cartilage in the knee meniscus than like the strong, stretchy material of a healthy tendon. Research had also suggested that as people age, blood supply to tendons decreases, leaving them starved of oxygen.
Yet no one knew which of these events starts the cascade that leads to injury. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University examined tendon samples from patients who were undergoing surgery for tendinosis and compared tendons from elderly versus young patients to determine what the deciding factor is in the increased risk of tendon problems with age.
And they found that when there are normal oxygen levels around a tendon, its cells are able to retain a normal shape and flexibility. But when those cells were grown in low-oxygen levels, mimicking the low-oxygen environment common in older people, the tendon cells changed shape and became round and more similar to tough cartilage-like cells that are more easily damaged.
In other words, lack of oxygen is the starting point in tendon problems as you get older.
“Our analysis links these two avenues of research, showing that decreased oxygen is a key event that leads tendon cells to go from healthy to tougher and less flexible, resulting in tendinosis,” said surgeon and cell biologist Rowena McBeath, M.D., Ph.D., at the Philadelphia Hand to Shoulder Center at Jefferson Health, who led the study.
We tend not to think of oxygen as our main nutrient, but remember that supplemental oxygen helps reduce tissue damage. Even hyperbaric oxygen is useful if given in the first few hours of injury. Oxygen is our main tissue healer and rejuvenator.
One way to keep tendons highly oxygenated is to make sure they’re getting the blood flow they need to supply that oxygen. Ways to maintain healthy circulation and blood flow include:
• Keep moving — Regular physical activity is one of the most effective and easy ways to keep your heart pumping and your blood flowing. The possibilities are endless; the only thing that counts is that you stay active.
• Eat fatty fish — Research has shown that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel help to boost blood flow. Add these foods to your diet and take a quality fish oil supplement eah day if you can’t get enough clean omega-3 through your diet.
• Increase nitric oxide production — Your body uses nitrates to make nitric oxide in the lining of your blood vessels to dilate them, allowing your blood to flow more easily. Eat nitrate-rich foods like spinach and collard greens and take grape seed extract and beetroot extract.
Why beets?
Scientists discovered that beet juice helps to open up blood vessels and improve blood flow to all tissues, including connective tissues. So researchers recommend getting daily doses of inorganic nitrate from vegetable sources. “We’re talking about an amount of nitrate equivalent to what is found in two or three red beets,” said Eddie Weitzberg, co-author of a study on beet root and oxygenation.
Bob Livingston
