Bone and Joint Diseases in Present and Future.

Abstract

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With the increase of elderly population, orthopaedic surgeons need to deal with the diseases related to aging, such as joint disorders and fragility fractures. The number of total joint replacements, for example, is two times more than it was 10 years ago. With these backgrounds, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) has proposed the concept of locomotive syndrome; conditions under which the elderly have been receiving care services due to problems of the locomotive organs. To prevent geriatric or disuse syndrome, JOA is currently providing the care‒prevention programs such as the loco-check and loco-training. Recent advances in the orthopaedic fields were cited in this review article, including the topics of new biomaterials, regenerative medicine of cartilage, spinal cord injury and computer assisted orthopaedic surgery. These new technologies and knowledge are changing or have potential to change the future orthopedic medical care.