Back To Bone: Calcium Receptors

Sept. 13 now. Time flies since August 30, date of the last bone post here. Refer to that post for my personal catch up. I'd been reconsidering calcification in bone strength after having previously thought calification is more a long term instead of day to day concern for fracture resistance (FR).

Then, a little epiphany involving the possible role of calcium receptors. The thought occurred that these would be strung around the nano areas between bone cells, between osteons, and in more vacant bone cell structures such as trabecular bone at the cannon bone ends and center. Might e.g. bone cell density in trabecular bone increase in response to exercise as calcium receptors there draw in calcium salts? This would fill in weak spots and increase FR.

This qualifies as another large can of worms in trying to reach a conclusion as to how frequently to do speed work for FR. And indeed, researching calcium receptors it appears such were discovered about 1994 and one article which I found and then lost reports that calcium receptors might be located within the structural elements of bone tissue regards the idea of finding medication that might strengthen osteoperotic bone by drawing calcium to the receptors.

Problems though. By 2004 they were still unable to find actual calcium receptors within bone tissue. Experiments showed bone acting as if there were calcium receptors there, but seeing or locating the actual receptors remains elusive.

Since calcium receptors are all over the mammalian body, in the blood stream, muscle cells, etc., and are regulated by parathyroid hormone it seems logical and obvious they are also within bone tissue, osteoblasts, osteocytes, etc. where exercise might stimulate them to increase calcium density. There's a reason those hard body training types beat themselves on the head with sticks, and possibly this may have to do merely with calcium receptors being activated by such trauma and increasing density.

For purposes here I will have to leave this to speculation as follows: if there are calcium receptors within bone tissue then it seems obvious that the more frequently we do speed work that might stimulate these receptors the more FR will be achieved.

This seems a rather neat conclusion, but it is completely logical and presumably will one day be confirmed.

Training:

Fri. 9/10: just beat 2 inches of rain with a slow gallop riderless w/o. They went 32 times around all told--trot, slow gallop. Nice timing on the weather, if I do say so.

Sat. 9/11 Accuweather claims we got .6 inches. More like 1.5 inches here at the farm. Off.

Sun 9/12: Speed work day. Last speed work was Wed. and so this would be 3 slow days since Wed. Interesting in terms of performance. The horses only did one slow gallop and had 2 off days due to rain. The lack of conditioning showed. Ground surface was alternately hard in spots deep muddy in spots and so the horses were unable due to slipping and sliding to go very fast. It went about 75% speed: 2 x 7f. The last 2f of each heat big Rod was sucking air. There's lesson in that for performance, when I get to it. Skipped tack. Rider awol.