This past week in Berlin, the sidewalks became so icy and slippery at one point that the city had to use Tausalz, or salt for de-icing. This is generally avoided for environmental reasons, but something had to be done about the high number of injuries from falls. 

banner2 PLACEHOLDER

Today's lesson, for beginners and advanced learners alike, is about the nouns for various parts of our musculoskeletal system. For sports, and also in case of injury, it's important to be able to refer to these. 

Beginners should know that das Bein and "the bone" are false friends. Das Bein means "the leg," while der Knochen is the general word for "the bone." 

Je größer die Temperaturschwankungen sind, desto stärker spüre ich meine Knochen.

The greater the temperature fluctuations are, the more I feel it in my bones.

Captions 16-17, Nicos Weg: Wieder so ein Wetter

 Play Caption

Confusingly, this is contradicted by names for certain individual bones, such as das Schienbein ("the shin bone"), das Schlüsselbein ("the collar bone"), and das Steißbein ("the tail bone"). 

Außerdem an Schienbein und Achillessehne.

Also their shinbones and Achilles tendons.

Caption 26, Gesundheit: Warum Barfußlaufen vor Verletzungen schützen könnte

 Play Caption

In the case of muscles, the German word is quite similar. The word for "the tendon" is die Sehne.

Unsere Hengste, sie bekommen gute Muskeln. Die Sehnen werden gestärkt.

Our stallions— they develop good muscles. Their tendons are strengthened.

Captions 31-33, Die Alpen von oben: S1 E2 Von Graz ins Ausseerland

 Play Caption

And here are a few more essential nouns for our more advanced learners:

Dann haben wir noch 'ne spezielle Faszien-Release-Massage, wo 's dann mehr um die Faszien, um die Muskelhäute geht.

Then we have a special fascia release massage, where it's more about the fascia, the muscle sheaths.

Captions 21-22, Deutsch mit Paula In der Physiotherapie-Praxis - Part 1

 Play Caption

Abrollen schont die Gelenke.

Rolling over protects the joints.

Caption 50, Gesundheit: Warum Barfußlaufen vor Verletzungen schützen könnte

 Play Caption

Für das warme Wasser in der Badeanstalt sorgen die Steine aus dem Feuer, die gegen Rheuma, Gicht oder Gelenkbeschwerden helfen.

The warm water in the bathhouse is provided by the stones from the fire, which help against rheumatism, gout, or joint problems.

Captions 55-57, Die Alpen von oben: S1 E1 Von den Karawanken nach Graz

 Play Caption

Lediglich mit der Gefahr, sich beim Absprung von der Wand den Fuß zu verstauchen oder sich einen Bänderriss zuzuziehen, muss man leben.

When jumping from a wall, it's only the danger of spraining a foot or incurring a torn ligament... you'll have to live with this.

Captions 20-21, Trendsport “Bouldern”: Abhängen auf vier Metern

 Play Caption

Further Learning
There are many videos about sports and exercise that contain related vocabulary on Yabla German.