After regularly informing broadly about the musculoskeletal system for six and a half years, the website has been inactive for the past three months. Why?

I am fine, and I certainly have not run out of topics to discuss. Rather I have been expanding the scope of my interests, and doing so has proved to be an all-consuming effort.

First, I just signed a contract to write Ligaments, Quietly Holding You Together Until They Don’t. This book will complete my musculoskeletal trilogy. Whereas tendons connect muscles to bones, ligaments are the unsung fibrous straps that connect bones to bones. They serve the same purpose as hinge pins, and without them our muscles and bones would flop about devoid of purposeful movement. The topic is as wide-ranging as bone and muscle and will include interesting information on career-ending sports injuries, cellulite, flat feet, artificial ligaments, Cirque du Soleil gymnasts, massage therapy, and contortionism. I will soon begin mixing in ligament topics with further posts about muscles and bones.

Second, I am intensely exercising my bones, muscles, and ligaments on an urban adventure. I have started walking the 342-mile perimeter of the Los Angeles City Limits. I am progressing in roughly 10-mile segments twice a week, stopping at points of interest and talking to people I encounter. The preparation took months. I scrutinized maps to determine the highly convoluted street-by-street boundary lines and then identified museums, one-off shops and “best of” eateries, public art, graves of famous people, infrastructure, and noteworthy architecture among other attractions that lie closer than a mile inside the boundary. This list contains over 200 places I plan to visit. Trying to line up these stops in a semi-direct path has been even more tedious since opening hours and opening days vary and sometimes freeways and golf courses cut across what would otherwise be a direct footpath between points. Like any adventure, I am coming across unanticipated gems, Who knew there would be a guinea pig rescue mission, a sacred Native American springs, and an amphitheater where one can cheer for their favorite professional video gamer?

Periodically I will include essays about my urban exploration here at MuscleAndBone.info. I have also started and will continue making frequent brief posts on social media (another major learning curve): Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. I would love to have you follow me on one of these platforms. I am making amazing discoveries and would like to share them, even if it is just an image of a beautiful flower, an amusing sign, or a carefully restored car. Can my trek motivate you to get out of your own neighborhood and out of your car? We’ll see.

The post MuscleAndBone Stretches Out appeared first on MuscleAndBone.Info.