Josh Rajan

Intern/Mentor 5,6
Hypothesis Assignment
Title

Bad to the Bone: An Investigation About Exercise and Musculoskeletal Diseases of

Bones.

Research Question and Hypothesis

How can musculoskeletal diseases be prevented in a persons elderly years
Exercise can have a positive impact on a person's bone density, thereby improving
their bone health throughout their lives.

Background and History

A musculoskeletal disease is an injury of any joint or bone in the body that reduces
movement and causes pain in the region. The most common musculoskeletal diseases are
osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other types of pains of the back, hips, and or knees.
Musculoskeletal diseases are most commonly diagnosed through x ray tomography, ultrasound
therapy, and MRI imaging. The most common age demographic affected by musculoskeletal
diseases are the elderly, as bones progressively weaken as age increases.
Even though not life- threatening, such diseases and disorders can result in bone
fractures and even permanent losses of functions of certain body parts. Most musculoskeletal
diseases are treated through use of various anti- inflammatory medicines, ultrasound therapy, and
the use of physical therapy. Most physical therapies utilize exercise and movement to reduce
pain, bring back function, and strengthen the bones and muscles of many patients. In fact,
exercise is prescribed by Orthopedic doctors as a method to prevent the development of
musculoskeletal diseases in old age, by building and strengthening bones.
Problem Statement and Rationale
1

Improvements and innovation in medicine has allowed for an increased age of living for
people. However, this increase in the age of living has also resulted in the increase of cases of
musculoskeletal diseases because more elderly individuals are able to live longer ,thus allowing
more time for their bones to degrade and deteriorate. The ability of musculoskeletal diseases to
impair its victims by reducing mobility and independence reduces the quality of life of patients
and causes depression and other stresses. Musculoskeletal diseases also pose a financial stress for
families and individuals that must spend grand costs in order to receive treatments. Such an
influx of patients with musculoskeletal diseases creates greater burdens on societies as a whole in
countries, as more money is used to fund medical programs to treat such patients and for
programs to aid them. Also, musculoskeletal diseases could potentially create multiple
populations of disabled people, thus posing as a greater burden on a country to take care of
them.The best way in preventing such influxes of musculoskeletal diseases in the future is by
encouraging exercise in young children in order to promote good bone health in their later years.

Basis of Hypothesis
The hypothesis focuses on pre pubescent children and their growth into adulthood
because this would show how exercise can improve the childrens bone health. Not only would
the hypothesis test if bone health is immediately improved in the childs life, but also test if such
improvements are sustained into adulthood and older years. The sources that would be useful for
collecting data on the subject would be case studies done on the topic and other studies that
record the relationship between bone mass and exercise. Most resources that have been found
have shown support in the correlation between the amount of exercise in a persons life and an
increase in bone health and density. However, there hasnt been much evidence to show the
relationship that such gains in bone health are permanent in a persons life.
2

Operational Definitions
Positive impact- Growth or improvement of bone density
Bone Density- Density of bone mineral, recorded in BMD
Bone Health- Bone mineral density, flexibility of bones, pain levels, functionality
of bones
Exercise- Set activity of constant movement and stretching, done in a duration of
time

Research Design
Correlational research will be used to find the relationship to how exercise can improve
the bone health of individuals throughout their lives. Such research will be attained through use
of interviews with Orthopedic doctors and other medical professional in the field. The questions
in the interviews will reflect around how bones are developed throughout a young child life and
throughout their puberty. Questions will also revolve around what ways bones are maintained to
be healthy and the ways in which elderly individuals can keep their bones from fracturing. The
research will mainly be qualitative data from the observations and interviews with the medical
doctors and results from other studies.