Musculoskeletal Injury and Arthritis
Health-care services worldwide will face severe social and financial pressures in the next 20 years because of the escalation in the number of people affected by musculoskeletal injury and disorders. Bone and joint disorders account for more than 50% of all chronic conditions in people older than 50 years of age in developing countries and are the most common cause of severe, long-term pain and disability. In developing nations, people of a younger age sustain these disabilities more often as a result of accidents and wars; 15 million injuries occur each year in accidents or through armed conflict. The financial cost in both developed and developing countries continues to escalate.
In the United States:
- Musculoskeletal conditions cost our society more than $250 billion per year.
- 1 out of every 7 Americans has a musculoskeletal impairment in function.
- More than 50% of all injuries are to the musculoskeletal system.
- 46 million people have arthritis and that number will increase to more than 60 million by 2020.
- 50% of women and 13% of men older than age 50 will have an osteoporosis fracture in their lifetime.
- Sprains, dislocations, and fractures account for nearly 65% of all musculoskeletal injuries, which can frequently lead to post-traumatic osteoarthritis.
- Costs of osteoporotic fractures will double in the next 50 years unless prevention and treatment strategies are initiated; two-thirds of people who have a hip fracture do not return to their pre-fracture level of functioning, and 1 in 6 Caucasian women will have a hip fracture in their lifetime.
- Each year, musculoskeletal conditions and injuries account for more than 157 million visits to doctors’ offices, more than 25 million hospital outpatient visits, and more than 29 million emergency department visits.
- More than 7 million musculoskeletal procedures are performed by physicians annually.
- Musculoskeletal disabilities will increase dramatically over the next 20 years as they are most prevalent in older segments of the population, and we all are aging. By 2030, one in five Americans will be age 65 or over.
Preventing Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. It causes pain, swelling, and reduced motion in your joints. It can occur in any joint, but usually it affects your hands, knees, hips, or spine.
OA affects nearly 21 million people in the United States and accounts for 25 percent of visits to primary care physicians and about half of all non steroidal inflammatory drug prescriptions.
Osteoarthritis breaks down the cartilage in your joints. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage absorbs the shock of movement. When you lose cartilage, your bones rub together. Over time, this rubbing can permanently damage the joint. Factors that may cause osteoarthritis include:
- Being overweight
- Getting older
- Injuring a joint
Research teams in the Bone & Joint Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation Center are focusing on ways to prevent those injuries that can lead to osteoarthritis and degenerative joint disease, and on treatment and therapies that can repair injuries and minimize the onset of OA years after treatment.
For more information on their studies see:
Riann Palmieri Smith, Ph.D., ATC
Youth sports injury prevention
Sports participation is on the rise for children and adolescents in the United States. Each year, more than 20 million American youth participate in school or community sports. This results in approximately one million serious sports-related injuries occurring annually, requiring hospitalization, surgery, missed school, or at least half a day in bed. The social and economic consequences related to sports injury incidents are substantial, and are estimated to cost thousands of millions of dollars in the U.S. each year.
It is estimated that sports-related injuries account for 41 percent of musculoskeletal injury treated in emergency rooms in 5- to 21-year-olds. These injuries include:
- Sprains to ligaments and tendons
- Strains to muscles
- Bone fractures
- Overuse injuries that are a consequence of competitive year-round participation and specialization in one sport. Types include:
- damage to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments commonly occurring in the shoulder and elbow in sports involving throwing,
- injuries to the leg, knee, ankle and foot from running and jumping
- Brain Injuries
- Annually, approximately 300,000 mild to traumatic brain injuries are classified as sports-related
- Twenty percent of all high school football players sustain brain injuries
- Concussions
- Spinal Cord Injuries:
- Approximately 55 percent of all spinal cord injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30.
- 8 percent result from sports injuries
The Center was originally chartered to focus on sport injury prevention, and it continues to conduct research and educational programs to address how youth and adolescents can enjoy lifelong optimal health by avoiding sport-related injuries during their formative years.