An annual global event, Bone and Joint Health National Awareness Week is held October 12-20 with activities focused on disorders including arthritis, back pain, osteoporosis and trauma. The events and projects organized by individuals and organizations worldwide are designed to raise awareness of prevention, disease management and treatments as well as advances in a number of areas.
You will find activities to do and ways to become better informed below. But before that, take a look at some facts:
You will find activities to do and ways to become better informed below. But before that, take a look at some facts:
- Nearly half the American population over the age of 18 - about 48 percent - are affected by musculoskeletal (bone and joint) conditions, according to The Burden of Musculoskeletal Conditions in the United States.
- Bone and joint conditions are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability worldwide affecting hundreds of millions of people.
- Musculoskeletal conditions include back pain, arthritis, traumatic injuries, osteoporosis and childhood conditions.
- Unless actions are taken now, the global prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions is predicted to increase greatly due to increasing life expectancy, changes in risk factors and availability of appropriate prevention measures.
- Musculoskeletal conditions can lead to significant disability plus diminished productivity and quality of life. Treatment and lost wage costs associated with musculoskeletal diseases in the U.S. alone was estimated at $950 billion in 2004 to 2006 - equal to 7.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
- Research funding is currently less than 2 percent of the National Institutes of Health annual budget, despite the high costs associated with these conditions.
- Since 2011, when "Baby Boomers" became beneficiaries of Medicare, the economic and societal cost of bone and joint health began to escalate and is expected to continue for decades.
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