Bone and Joint Futures doc

[...]... backgrounds of spa therapy and internal medicine Physical therapy and rehabilitation has strong links with the armed forces Manual medicine has developed to meet the demand of soft tissue musculoskeletal conditions and back pain The growth of alternative and complementary therapies reflects the failure of interventions to meet 5 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES the patient’s expectations and the large numbers with... “hands on” Management There are also future trends in the management of musculoskeletal conditions More priority will be given to implementing primary prevention in response to the growing health and social demands of these conditions, and looking at the health of the population and not 11 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES just of the individual Consumers are assuming more responsibility for their own health and. .. intensive medical care, spend most of their time within 13 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES the community and that is where support is needed Apart from general understanding and support, gained through a greater awareness of musculoskeletal conditions and their impacts, the community can help through providing specific facilities, such as for exercise, and ensure that the local environment does not create barriers... human development and for maintaining peace and security It is also important that any system is equitable for all diseases whether acute and treatable or chronic disorders that require more care and support Musculoskeletal conditions, as 9 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES a major contributor to such non-fatal outcomes, need greater recognition of their importance and their specific needs must be considered... world with population growth and the change in risk factors such as increased longevity, urbanisation and motorisation, particularly in the less developed countries What burden do they cause to individuals and to society? Musculoskeletal conditions are characterised by pain and are usually associated with loss of function Many are chronic or recurrent They 1 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES are the commonest cause... lack of awareness of the enormous burden on the individual and society leads to lack of priority and resources There are few health policies that highlight the importance of musculoskeletal conditions despite their enormous costs to society and to the individual As a consequence, for example, the waiting 7 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES times for joint replacement surgery for osteoarthritis, a highly cost... transforming a system that is essentially reactive, responding mainly 15 BONE AND JOINT FUTURES when a person is sick due to an exacerbation or complication, to one that is proactive and focused on keeping a person as healthy and independent as possible That requires not only determining what care is needed, but also spelling out roles and tasks and setting targets to ensure the patient gets the care – not just... priority and political will The enormous burden of these conditions is increasingly recognised and the Bone and Joint Decade initiative is raising awareness of what can and should be done to reduce this burden At present, however, musculoskeletal conditions are a priority in only a few countries What are the barriers to change and achieving outcomes? Although there are compelling reasons to improve the standards... the expertise of patients and their organisations BMJ 1999;319:771–4 18 2: The future burden of bone and joint conditions; and priorities for health care DEBORAH PM SYMMONS Introduction The natural watershed provided by a new century and a new millennium offers the opportunity not only to look back and contemplate the achievements of the last 100 years, but also to look forward and anticipate the challenges... Former Socialist countries Latin America and the Caribbean Middle Eastern Crescent Sub-Saharan Africa India China Other Asia and Islands mortality and disability into a new measure called the disabilityadjusted life year.2 The experts assisted in modelling the number of cases, the case fatality rate and the associated disability for each condition; age and gender band; and region Mortality estimates were . towards the aims of the Bone and Joint Decade. L Lidgren Chairman,The Bone and Joint Decade For more information on the Bone and Joint Decade Strategies, visit: www .boneandjointdecade.org FOREWORD ix