The second item in the soft tissue health series is a nutrient that we often overlook, although we could not survive without it more than 3 minutes: oxygen.

Oxygen is important in many metabolic processes of our soft tissues, but I want to circle in on two specific functions: tissue flexibility and energy production. Soft tissues such as tendons can “fatigue” much more easily, manifesting as lowered endurance during activities and longer recovery time, when tissue oxygen concentration is reduced.

Perhaps the most significant manifestation of low tissue oxygen concentration however, is the inability of soft tissue to heal and repair with tissue of equal elasticity. The reason being that the type of collagen that is highly elastic can only be manufactured with a high oxygen saturation, while harder, less flexible types of collagen can be manufactured under much lower oxygen concentrations. The end result is post trauma changes in the soft tissue that feel firm, stiff, “string like”.

Oxygen is closely linked to the first topic of blood flow. While there is a lot of overlap between the two, there are still distinct situations when blood flow is adequate but oxygen concentration is not: chronic respiratory problems ( asthma, COPD), smoking, and chronic low grade anemia . Those are ongoing medical conditions that can really compound soft tissue problems from other sources.

There is a category of nutritional supplementation that helps improve oxygen delivery to peripheral tissues ( nitric oxide modulators), as well as some DME device ( PEMF), that can help make up for some of those issues, but ultimately addressing the underlying reason for low oxygen tissue concentration is the most effective way to resolve the problem.