This information was taken directly from the Bone and Joint Initiative USA website at
https://www.usbji.org/programs/public-education-programs/action-week
Bone and Joint Action Week is held annually October 12-20 with activities focused on disorders including arthritis, back pain, trauma, pediatric conditions, and osteoporosis. The themes and their related activities are designed to raise awareness worldwide about prevention, disease management and treatment.
You will find activities to do and ways to become better informed below. But before that, take a look at some facts:
- More than half the American population over the age of 18 – 54 percent – are affected by musculoskeletal (bone and joint) conditions, according to The Burden of Musculoskeletal Conditions in the United States.(1)
- One in three (33%) people over the age of 18 required medical care for a musculoskeletal condition in each of the years 2009 to 2011, a 19% increase over the last decade.(2)
- Bone and joint conditions are the most common cause of severe long-term pain andphysical disability worldwide affecting hundreds of millions of people.(3)
- Musculoskeletal conditions include back pain, arthritis, traumatic injuries, osteoporosis, spinal deformity, and childhood conditions.
- The global prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions is predicted to increase greatlydue to increasing life expectancy and changes in risk factors unless new treatments and preventive measures are found.
- Musculoskeletal conditions can lead to significant disability plus diminished productivity and quality of life. Treatment and lost wagecosts associated with musculoskeletal diseases in the U.S. alone was estimated at $874 billion in 2009 to 2011 – equal to 5.73 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).(2)
- Research funding is currently less than 2 percent of the National Institutes of Healthannual budget, and continues to decline each year despite the high costs associated with injuries, arthritis, and back pain.
- Since 2011, when “Baby Boomers”became beneficiaries of Medicare, the economic and societal cost of bone and joint health escalated and is expected to continue for decades.
Now is the time to raise awareness – and the reason for Bone and Joint Action Week.
There are five special days during Action Week.
- October 12 – World Arthritis Day
- October 16 – World Spine Day
- October 17 – World Trauma Day
- October 19 – World Pediatric Bone and Joint (PB&J) Day
- October 20 – World Osteoporosis Day
(1) United States Bone and Joint Initiative: The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States. Rosemont, IL; 2014. http://www.boneandjointburden.org/2014-report/ib0/prevalence-select-medical-conditions. Accessed July 9, 2015.
(2) United States Bone and Joint Initiative: The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States. Rosemont, IL; 2014. http://www.boneandjointburden.org/2014-report/if0/health-care-utilization-and-economic-cost. Accessed July 9, 2015.
(3) Woolf AD, Pfleger B. Burden of major musculoskeletal conditions. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003;81:646-656.
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