1. 12-1
Our Bones & Muscles
What holds up your body.... helping you to
stand, walk, sit or chew your food?
What protects your brains, your liver and your
heart from getting damaged?
What helps you run from danger?
Our bones hold our body up.
Bones help us do our work.
Without bones, we would be
like a rag doll.
But what helps Our Bones Move?
They are Our Muscles.
Fixed to our bones, muscles are the ones
pulling at the bones and letting our body
move.
2. 12-2
Our Bones
HOW SOME OF YOUR
Some of the small- BONES WORK?
est bones of the
body are attached While the hands move to take
to our eardrums
the food to the mouth, the jaw
and help us in hear-
moves to munch and grind the
ing.
food.
Flat Bones : Our Legs help us in running. The
blood is made in ribs keep expanding and con-
these flat bones- in tracting about eighteen times
our skull and also every minute to help us
ribs. breathe.
Humerus –hyu- The skull protects the brain
mer-us in the from injury —imagine what
upper arm is the would happen to the soft brain
bone between the ( it is as fluid as rice porridge!)
shoulder and
if there was no skull?
elbow
The rib-cage protects the heart
Some bones are long, and lungs. The pelvis protects
like the Femur –- fee- the urinary bladder, and in
mer ——in the thigh women the uterus – (yu-ter-
is the longest bone of us)—or womb.
the body.
Why are bones important?
• They make the shape and form of the body.
• They end in joints that make movement possible.
• They allow us to eat food.
• They are necessary for running away or fighting.
• They protect important organs like the brain and heart.
• Blood cells are made in some of the bones.
• They start the breathing process.
3. 12-3
Parts of the Skeleton
Skeleton is the bony framework of the body and
can be divided into:
1 Skull (head)
.
2 Vertebral column (neck and backbone)
.
3 Rib-cage (chest)
.
4 Upper and lower limbs.
.
How many Bones in Our
Skeleton?
206 bones make up our skeleton. Skelton is
the form that is left behind when all the soft
tissues are removed from the body. Some of
you must have seen human skeletons when
graves are dug or when bodies are found af-
ter a long time.
1. The skull (head)
It has a number of flat bones that are joined together.
These bones make our red blood cells. The skull pro-
tects the most important organ. It has holes below
that allow various nerves and blood vessels to go and Flat bones make up the
come to/from the brain. skull. Blood is made in
these flat bones.
Sinus pockets
The Ear
in the skull
Sinuses are air-
pockets inside the
skull like in the face
and forehead. In-
fection or allergy
can cause pain and
swelling inside
The eardrum and its bones that help us them. This is called
hear, and small semicircular canals that sinusitis.
help our brains determine our position and
balance are also located inside the skull.
4. 12-4
2. Verterbral Column
The vertebral column has 33 bones (each called vertebra) piled one on the
other, starting from the neck and ending in the lower back just behind our
anus (where our stools come out from). You may be able to count most of
them as you run your finger starting from the back of the skull going down
the neck, chest and back and loin to the area between the buttocks.
Between every two vertebrra, we have a cushion like disc through which
the spinal cord carry all the connecting nerves to and from the brain. Un-
like the bones of the neck and back which allows easy movement, the ver-
tebrae between the chest and pelvis do not allow much movement. The
bones of the vertebral column also produce blood cells for the body. More
importantly, they allow us to stand erect and upright and hence, makes us
human beings different from animls.
3. Rib Cage
The rib-cage has 12 pairs of flat bones, ten of
them joined to the vertebrae behind. In the
front they are joined to softer cartilages that
are attached further to the bone in the mid-
dle. This allows easy movement for breath-
ing.
The ribs protect the windpipe, food
pipe, lungs, heart and the major blood
tubes that leave the heart. The ribcage
also protects the liver in the front and
also the kidneys behind to some extent.
The ribs make blood cells besides help-
ing in breathing in and throwing out
air.
5. 12-5
4. Upper and Lower Limbs
The limbs are attached to the central part of the skeleton. Both the upper and lower
limbs have bigger and longer bones to start with and these become shorter and more
numerous as one goes down.
Each upper limb has: Lower Limb
Upper limb
1 bone in the upper arm, two
in the forearm, eight in the
wrist, five in the palm and
fourteen in the fingers.
(1+2+8+5+14)
Each lower limb has:
1 bone in the thigh, two in the
leg, seven in the ankle, five
in the foot and fourteen in the
toes. It also has a knee cap in
front of each knee.
(1+2+7+5+14)
Why do children break
their bones less often?
1. Bones are soft in children and they suffer
less bone-fractures in falls. As we grow in age,
the bones keep getting harder and suffer more
fractures.
2. Bones in children are soft as they need to
grow, but if they do not get enough Calcium
and Vitamin D (mainly from sunlight) needed
for absorbing the Calium to make the bones
hard, the bones will bend and become de-
formed. This is called “rickets”.
Bones Need to Heal Fully
Bones provide attachments for muscles to move. If
they do not heal properly in their original shape, they
may result in deformity and we will not be able to
move the joints. For this, and to reduce pain, it is
important to “splint” the fractured part with a hard
stick, etc. and later put a firm plaster so that the dis-
rupted parts can align themselves correctly as they
heal. A sling also acts like a splint for fractures of the foreaem &
arms.
6. 12-6
MUSCLES of our Body
Muscles are at-
tached to bones on
different sides of the
joint. Hence, when-
ever they tigthen,
they will move the
joint in the directions
shown by the arrows.
What Are Muscles?
MUSCLES are what you can easily feel on your thigh or above
Try this out: Try to
the elbow. They are fixed to the end of two bones to move fold your elbow while
them. When you want to fold your arm, the brain orders the your neighbour
muscles in the arms to shorten so that it pulls both the bones presses on your wrist
to stop you. Feel the
towards each other.
muscles above your
elbow getting harder.
Types of How Do Our
Muscles Muscles Work?
The muscles attached Nerves connect the brain
to our bones can be
and the muscle. They bring
moved whenever we
want and are called
arm muscles at- commands from the brain
voluntary muscles.
tached to bones telling the muscle to move
help our arms to or to stop.
Another type of mus-
move
cles are involuntary,
i.e., they cannot be or- The brain tells one group of
dered to move and muscles to tigthen and the
they work on their opposite group to loosen so
own. They work auto- that we are able to move
matically. that part.
Examples of involun- When we have had enough
tary or automatic mus- movement, the nerves carry
cles are those in the in- Did You Know This? information to the brain to
testines . They squeeze The Heart is a Muscle. It is order the muscles to stop .
and relax automati- involuntary (automatic) and
works by itself. It is very
The same signals are passed
cally so as to push the
special because it is hard- to the joints of our body.
food from the top of
the intestine towards
working and a centre of non- This complex system of
stop activity. The heart
the bottom and out of nerves with the muscles
keeps pumping at 80 times a
our body. minute all through our lives and joints is needed to keep
to pump out about half a cup our balance and to prevent
of blood every minute ! us from falling.
7. 12-7
Muscles Help Change We Eat
Our Expressions
Muscles
Did you know that
Some of the muscles also the flesh we eat of
end into skin, like the ones animals like goat,
on our face. These muscles chicken, pig, cow
help to change our expres- etc. are actually the muscles of that
sion. animal?!
Keeping Your Muscles Fit
1. Muscle Tear :
Strain, excessive exercise or injury may cause muscle tear. The muscles need to be
rested for some time followed by slow and careful return to activity.
2. Muscles Of Intestine Tighten and can Cause Pain
To throw out disease causing germs from our intestines, the muscles may squeeze
faster and tighter. This causes pain and loose motions. Though some medicines
may lessen the squeezing and the pain, one should be careful about giving such
medicines too early. If given carelessly, the infection may stay on longer
and cause more harm.
3. Keeping the Heart Muscles Fit
The heart muscle may not get enough blood supply for its non-stop
activity especially in smokers and old people and may thus stop func-
tioning. This is what is called a
heart attack.
4. Muscles Need Minerals
To do their work well, muscles need small
amounts of minerals like sodium, potassium
and calcium. These are found in soil, salt,
vegetables, fruit, milk and meat. They are
absorbed from the food in small amounts
and are also lost by the body through sweat-
ing and urine and stools. That is why our
muscles feel tired when we have diarrhoea or when we sweat too much !
5. Muscles Need Food
To prevent important muscles like the heart from getting affected during a diar-
rhoea and illnesses, we must continue to give food and ORS or sugar-salt solution.
8. 12-8
TENDONS: Small bones as in the
hands and feet need a lot of different mus- Tendons
cles to move. But there is not
enough space for the muscles to
be attached to the bones. Hence,
these muscles end in tough rope
like things called tendons.
These can attach easily to the
small bones. You can feel these
on the front of your wrist and on
top of foot close to the big toe.
As many of the tendons have to
pass over joints that keep mov-
ing and hence may get damaged, Bags of oily
there are bags of oily substance substance
that separate them from the
joints. Occasionally these too
may get swollen and cause pain.
LIGAMENTS are also like tough bands and ropes that hold
the bones together. They prevent the joint from moving beyond a
limit and thus make the joints more stable.
However, when we have a fall or an accident or while playing games, the
ligaments may tear or break. Because tendons and ligaments are poorly
supplied by blood tubes, healing is difficult. It may take much longer and
may even need an operation to repair tendons and ligaments.
9. 12-9
JOINTS
Places where two bones come together are called “joints”.
Movement of the bones is possible at
Joints:
* Joints like those of the hip and the shoul-
der allow for full round movement;
hinge joints there are higher chances of pulling the
bones out of their place (Ball and socket
ball & socket
joint).
joint; thumb
* Joints in the knee and those in the elbow
allow movemnet allow in one direction;
like in a door (Hinge joint).
saddle joint
* Joints as in the ankle are a mix of the two
above (saddle joint).
What is Arthritis (ahr-thry-tis)?
The ends of each bone of a joint are cov- * Joint like the one in our neck that allows
ered with tough cartilage and with an us to turn our head from side to side
oily fluid. These help to avoid any fric- (Pivot joint).
tion or roughness in movement. How-
ever, due to injuries, disease, or old age - Some joints do not allow any
the end of the bones and the cartilage movement, for example, bones in
may get damaged and thus every the skull (Plane joint).
movement becomes difficult and pain-
ful – this is what is called arthritis.
How to Treat Sprains (Joint Injury) ?
1. The bones of a joint may get seperated more than normal during falls, accidents or
while playing. In such a case, you should put ice or cold water pack on the first or
second day. This should be done many times. The joint will become normal faster.
Only after that you should put anything warm on the joint.
2. If pain-relieving
medicines are not
enough, the joint
may require to be
operated by a bone
specialist. These
days it is possible to
even change the en-
tire joint if it is giv-
ing trouble like pain
and swelling.
10. 12-10
Know the Answers
Our Bones & Muscles
1. Bones are important because they do the following functions:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. Rickets is caused by deficiency of ______________________ and __________________.
3. To allow bones to heal properly to their natural shape and lessen pain after a fracture, we need
to fix them with a ____________________________.
4. Heart is a type of __________________________ muscle because it automatically pumps
blood to _____________ times every minute.
5. Muscles attached to our bones are types of _________________________ muscles because
we can move them whenever we want.
6. Muscles end in rope like structures called ____________________ which attach to the small
bones of our hands and feet.
7. ______________ help to give support and stability to joints.
Mark whether “right “ or “wrong” :
a. Knee joint is a type of ball and socket joint.
b. Humerus bone in the leg is the longest bone in our body.
c. Each ear has 3 small bones to help us in hearing.
d. The ribs are attcahed to the vertebral column (or spine).
e. In case of sprains, apply warmth immediately to relieve pain.
12. 12-12
DISEASES of Our MUSCLES AND BONES
Our bones help us do anything we may wish to. But there are times when we face problems
with them due to injury or disease.
General Principles to deal With Bones & Muscles Injury
Use only Cold Water !
· In muscle or bone injuries of all types :
Apply something COLD to the injury for the first two days.
Use water which is as cold as possible (with some ice if possi-
ble).
Soak the part in cold water for 10 -15 minutes four times a
day. This reduces the swelling and restores the part to its origi-
nal shape.
DO NOT apply warm or hot water to it.
Do not massage the injured part the first two days.
· ONLY after the first two days, one may apply something hot to the
part. We can put towels dipped in hot water to this part. This attracts blood to the area and
warms it up - both help in healing the injury.
· Allow the part to take rest for a few days. Do not lift heavy weights with an injured arm. And do
not bear weight on an injured leg. If necessary, restrict its movement by splinting the part.
· If the pain is too much, eat Anti-inflammatory tablets ASPIRIN, PARACETAMOL or IBUPROFEN.
Usually called painkillers, these medicines not only reduce pain but also reduce swelling and
redness.
In this section we will learn about:
Muscle Diseases Bone Diseases
1. Muscle Cramps 1. Fractures
2. Muscle Tear 2. Sprains
3. Arthritis
4. Backache
5. Spine injury
Muscles Diseases
1. Muscle Cramps
Muscle cramps are often seen when someone is doing heavy work or playing in hot weather.
Felt usually in the lower leg or in the foot or in the thigh, the person feels severe pain and
a tightening of the muscles there.
Mainly due to heavy work and too much of sweating, the usual reason is less salt in the
diet.
What to do?
· Ask the person to rest. Lay down the person if possible.
· Giving some warmth to the part will help.
· Feed the person a glass or two of water with a two-finger pinch of salt and some sugar/
glucose. This is all that is necessary to relieve the cramp within a few minutes and
allow the person to play/work again.
13. 12-13
2. Muscle Tear
A sudden sharp pain while playing or lifting heavy weights, etc tells us that it is a muscle tear.
This is usually in the thigh or calf, or in the shoulder or back. After the sharp pain, it soons be-
comes very painful to move the limb. The area swells up, gets hot and may appear red also.
What to do in Muscle Tear?
· Dip the part in cold water, or apply cold water to it.
· Ask the person to rest the part and not move it for a few days at least.
· Apply some cream that has muscle relaxant in it (available under brand
names like DOLOPAR, RELAXYL, BUTARIL, CAPSIGEL or
MEDICREME, etc.)
· With food a medicine to decrease the pain and swelling, like ASPIRIN,
PARACETAMOL or IPBUPROFEN may also be given.
Bones Diseases
1. Fractures
The breaking of a bone is called a fracture. Usually a fall on some
part of the body can cause a fracture.
Simple Or Compound Fractures
Fractures are called simple if there is no injury to the skin above them. If the
skin on top of the fracture breaks as a result of the accident, the fractures are
called Compound fractures.
What Happens in a Fracture?
When we see a bent – which is not natural - in that part of the body
where an injury has taken place, we can suspect a fracture. The bone
has broken at this point and when we move this part, the ends of the
bones rub and cause great pain and swelling.
Besides pain, the ends of the broken bone may also press upon some important part like a blood
tube or a nerve. Always check if the person - with eyes closed — can feel the touch of a soft cloth
below the area of fracture. Also check for the pulse below the fracture. If any of the two are found,
RUSH THE PERSON TO A DOCTOR.
What to do in Fractures?
· Ask the person not to move the area that is broken.
· Rest the part by splinting it. Tie a cloth or string to pieces of wood or
iron that can stretch beyond the joints above and below the fractured bone(s).
The arm can be put in a sling. For the shoulder, the entire arm can be tied to
the body at two points. A finger may be tied to the next one to splint it and the
leg also to the other in case a stick of suitable size is not available. Check Phase I
Manual (First Aid)
· DO NOT pull at the bone. DO not massage the area. on how to bandage
· Pain killers like Injection Morphine may be required if the pain is unbearable. Get an X-Ray and
send the patient to a surgeon.
In case of a compound fracture, clean the wound carefully with a clean swab different from the one
used to clean the dirt from around the injury. If more than six hours have lapsed, the wound must
heal before any attempt is made to correct the fracture.
14. 12-14
2. Sprains
Abnormal twisting of a joint beyond its free range causes pain and swelling in
and around the joint. This is called a sprain or a strain. Often seen in the ankle
while landing on a false step or when our foot gets stuck in a crevice, sprains also
happen in wrists while opening tight containers, in knees while playing sports
like football, etc and in shoulders while wearing clothes.
What to do?
• Rest the part for a few days.
• Apply cold cloth over it a few times a day for two days.
• After the first two days, hot fomentation may be done.
• Any liniment or similar cream will help to relieve the pain. A number of
creams are available in the market, like IODEX, MOOV, etc
• Tablet ASPIRIN, PARACETAMOL or IBUPROFEN with meals may
be needed.
3. Arthritis
An inflammation of the joints is called Arthritis. Although pain, swell-
ing and redness over the joint can also be due to injury - this too can be Knee Joint
called arthritis - commonly the term is used for joint inflammation With Arthritis
whose reason is not clearly known as yet.
Some of the types of arthritis affect only the small joints like that of
fingers and toes. Starting quite young, such arthritis can be crippling
and can destroy the normal shape of fingers making them crooked.
The person often has to be on life-long treatment of medicines like
ASPIRIN, PARACETAMOL or IBUPROFEN.
In some others, young women get swelling and pain in their bigger
joints like their knees, elbows and wrists. Such arthritis may affect
daughters of women who also had the trouble. A life long course of
anti-inflammatory drugs may be required. joint get inflammed
- pain, swelling,
redness
In old age, wear and tear of joints also causes arthritis, especially in
knees, hips and shoulders.
What to do in Arthritis ?
What is needed is :
1. Warmth over the joints. Arthritis gets worse in the winters,
and warm pads over large joints feel very comfortable.
2. Anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular basis.
Gooseberry
3. A diet containing amla (gooseberry), lemon, oranges or ( amla) is very
guava that are rich in Vitamin C may also be helpful. good for Vitamin
C.
15. 12-15
4. Backache
Backache is one of the commonest of complaints in recent times. It affects people of all ages. In
early days, we had strong muscles in our back because we had to do lot of hard work, like carry-
ing loads on our heads for long distances. With modern lifestyles, most people use buses and
other vehicles and we do not get to use our back muscles all the time.
All of a sudden, if we have to lift a weight or shift some furniture in the house, our muscles which
has not been used gets overworked. We get strains in the joints of the back, small tears in the back
muscles or to the cushion-like discs between the vertebrae. This causes backache.
What to do in backaches?
1. Rest : 3. Exercise :
Resting the In those who get backaches very often, it is worthwhile to
back for a few strengthen the muscles of the spine with daily exercises.
days is wise
or else it ay Try some of these exercises. Do them very slowly.
get worse. They are very good if practised twice daily on a regular basis. This is
the only sure way of getting rid of your backache on a long term.
2. Medicines:
Anti-inflam- • lie on your belly and raise your up-
matory medi- per body on your hands
cines by
• lie on your belly; lift your upper body
mouth and
and your legs above the ground and try
pain relieving to hold your feet with your hands)
creams like
IODEX and In those whose backaches started with a clear incident of injury to the
MOOV may back, it is important to consult the doctor before trying any exercises.
be helpful.
How To Avoid Backaches
1. Sleep either on the floor or 2. Bend your knees and pick
on a firm flat surface. up heavy weight.
3. Always stand straight.
16. 12-16
5. Spine injury
For any injury to the spine that may result in severe pain in the
back - as in falling from a height - - and/or the inability to move
the limbs, great care needs to be taken.
Lack of care in handling spinal injuries may result not only in a
fresh paralysis, but may also worsen the injury and the paralysis.
What to do in a Spinal Injury?
Whenever a person has fallen from a height and complains of a pain in the back
or the inability to move her limbs, assume it is a spinal injury.
Carry the person on a hard flat bed or a large piece of wood - e.g., that of
a door, or a special spinal stretcher.
If more than one person needs to move the patient, all of them have to
coordinate their actions so that the spine does not get bent even more
and worsen the injury.
Take the person to a specialist centre where s/he can be rehabilitated in
the use of the spine.
Painkiller like injection Morphine may be necessary to reduce the pain.
Severe Spine Injury
Where the person is unable to move her/his legs immediately after the injury,
total or partial recovery is also possible. However, in most cases there is no
more recovery after the first month or so. The person, like a child will have to
be retrained to empty her bladder and bowels. She will require a lot more care
with her skin. As she will not be able to move her own legs, she will have to be
turned from one side to another every few hours in order to avoid bed sores
from developing.
In severe spine injury,
person could be paralysed
and cannot move. Bed sores
will develop if not careful.
Turn the person every few
hours to avoid bed sores.
17. 12-17
Know the Answers
BONES & MUSCLES Diseases
Fill in the blanks with the right answer:
1. In any type of bone or muscle injury, you should apply ___________ water for the first two
days.
2. In muscle cramps, the person feels severe ____________ and ______________ of muscles.
3. Painkillers like ________________, ____________________ and ______________ can be
given in case of severe pain in muscle tear.
4. In sprains the joints get twisted beyond its free range and we will get ________________ and
___________________ in and around the joint that is injured.
5. Foods having Vitamin ___ such as _____________, ______________, ___________ should
be given people suffering arthritis.
6. Spine injury can result in a person losing movement of the body called ___________.
Mark whether “right” or “wrong” :
1. Something warm must be put at once when there is a muscle
tear so that the blood flows quickly to lessen pain.
2. When the top of the skin tears because of a fracture, it is called a
coumpund fracture.
3. You should immediately pull the bone and set it in place in case of a fracture.
4. In joint sprains, one should exercise the part as much as possible so
that it gets strong faster
5. Arthritis gets worse in cold weather, one should apply warm pads over it.
6. Gooseberry which has Vitamin C should be given to people
suffering from arthritis.
7. Exercise for the back is the best way to strengthen back muscles
and get rid of back pain.
.
