A newly published study provides a lens into the connection between injury and aging. Tendons begin to degrade during the aging process, and the report – released August 5 in the United Kingdom – sought to determine why that’s the case. It concluded that the tendons are no longer as capable of self-repair, which in turn leads to a preponderance of fragmented proteins. The team conducting the study, medical scholars from the University of Liverpool and Queen Mary University, hope that its publication will motivate researchers to seek treatments for tendon injury based on age.

The study, which appears in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, underscores the critical nature of tendons within the body. Professional athletes need properly functioning tendons in order to compete, but tendons also allow everyone to perform general day-to-day tasks. When they become damaged, injury rehabilitation is necessary to regain healthy functionality.

Knowledge of molecular relationship between tendon injury and aging

Medical science has firmly established that a higher propensity to experience tendon injury is one of the effects of aging on the body. In other words, we know that tendon difficulties increase as age increases. However, the research has not clearly established what is going on at the microscopic level of the molecules and cells. Experts have generally agreed that aging makes it more difficult for tendon repair to occur, but the basis for that perspective has been somewhat ambiguous.

Lead author Dr. Hazel Screen and her associates used horses for the study, because people and horses share the same basic tendon structure and deterioration process following damage. The team of researchers studied proteins within healthy and injured tendons of horses ranging from young to old. The study revealed a likely reason why poor tendon injury recovery is considered one of the effects of aging on the body: as a horse ages, the structure of its proteins shift, with different protein quantities present.

The team also discovered different types of protein fragmentation within uninjured tendons of older horses, signaling that healthy protein breakdown is specific to one’s age. When the tendons of younger and older horses become injured, the protein makeup differs as well. In other words, the cellular structure of tendons changes throughout life, regardless if they are injured or uninjured.

Ramifications for injury rehabilitation

At Health Star Clinic, our success in rehabilitative efforts is based in part on our understanding that each patient’s situation is unique, with age as a primary factor. We combine therapies from the fields of chiropractic, conventional medicine, and physical therapy to develop our responsible, nonsurgical recovery plans. Stop suffering: get your free consultation today.