The calcium is mineral essential to have strong bones and healthy teeth and as well as being essential for our body to function well. In addition the body needs calcium to make muscles to contract properly, the blood to clot and so that nerves can also make their function, which is the transmission of nerve impulses.
Nevertheless when the organism presents disorders that prevent you metabolize well this mineral occurs the calcification. We can say that calcification occurs when calcium accumulating in the body is either dissolved by the blood and deposited in other areas of the body such as tissues.
In the case in which calcium builds up in the tissues occurs that the tissue hardens with what the movement is shortened.
Excess calcium could be on the shoulder, it produces mobility in the muscles that surround it, where calcium has been deposited also causing pain to the movement.
The 99% of calcium entering the body tends to be deposited in bones and teeth; the remaining calcium dissolves in the blood. When there is too much calcium in the blood that exceeds normal levels the condition called hypercalcemia. The calcifications are detected by X-rays.
The most common areas to calcifications often occurs are usually the shoulder, breast, brain and prostate.
Symptoms of calcification
- Bone spurs.
- Pain in the bones.
- Lumps or masses in the breast (microcalcifications).
- Frequent bone fractures.
- Curvature of the spine.
- Muscle cramps.
- Tartar on the teeth.
- Kidney stones.
- Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
Calcification can be severe in some cases and we should pay attention to the following:
- Severe pain in bones.
- Severe headaches.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Convulsions.
- Spasms.
- Muscle contractions.
- Hearing loss.
- Sudden abdominal pain.
- Pelvic pain.
There are times when the calcifications occur as a reaction of the body to injury also calcifications may appear as a normal response in the healing of any musculoskeletal injury.
What are the risk factors that can predispose to calcification?
There are several different factors that can predispose to suffer calcification. The most common are:
- Autoimmune disorders.
- Genetic heritage of hypercalcemia (calcium metabolism disorder).
- Abuse of alcohol.
- Internal tissue damage.
- Age.
Calcifications can become complicated to the point of being serious when calcification is a tumor tissue that may be cancerous or when it affects the arteries.
We should also pay attention to the calcifications in the breast or breast tissue as this type of calcification could hide breast cancer.
As mentioned above calcifications can be detected by an X-ray.
If you suspect that we have calcification we must see a doctor so make us the timely review and put the proper treatment, depending on where the calcification is located.
When calcification risk of serious health problems is not about it is quite high, with risk of heart attacks, spread cancer, deformities, or peripheral arterial disease.