Volume 180 · Issue 5 · Supplement

The first decade of the 21st century has been designated by the United Nations and the World Health Organization as the Decade of Bone and Joint Disease. The Decade was initiated to focus attention on the growing burden of musculoskeletal diseases occurring worldwide as the population of the global village ages.1 Australia — along with some 60 other countries — has signed up to the Decade,2 ...

Peter M Brooks MD, FRACP, FAFRM · Michael J Hooper MB BS, FRACP · Richard A Smallwood AO, MD, FRACP, FRCP

Arthritis affects around 3 million people in Australia, representing about 15% of the population. Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of pain and disability among the elderly. Osteoarthritis is the third leading cause of life-years lost due to disability. Obesity and joint injury are important potentially modifiable risk factors for the development of osteoarthritis. Obesity is also an important predictor of progression of ...

Lynette M March PhD, FRACP, FAFPHM · Hanish Bagga MB BS, FRACP

The comparison of disparate interventions for the prevention and management of osteoarthritis (OA) is limited by the quality and quantity of published efficacy studies and the use of disparate measures for reporting clinical trial outcomes. The “transfer to utility” technique was used to translate published trial outcomes into a health-related quality-of-life (utility) scale, creating a common metric which supported comparisons between disparate interventions. ...

Leonie Segal MEcon, PhD · Susan E Day BA, MA · Adam B Chapman BA/BSc(Hons), MPH · Richard H Osborne PhD

Osteoporosis is:

Tuan V Nguyen PhD · Jacqueline R Center PhD · John A Eisman MB BS, PhD

Arthritis self-management programs (ASMPs) are integrated into many clinical practice guidelines and policies, and are the core business of Arthritis Foundations. Australian Arthritis Foundations are embarking on a National Quality Assurance Program which should raise awareness and improve confidence in such programs. ASMPs aim to empower people, improve quality of life while living with chronic disease, increase healthy activities and improve self-monitoring — ...

Richard H Osborne DipApplBiol, BSc, PhD · Jean M Spinks BPharm, MPH · Ian P Wicks MB BS, FRACP, PhD

Joint replacement is the most effective healthcare measure in improving patient quality-of-life outcomes. More than 46 000 hip and knee replacements were performed in Australia between July 2000 and July 2001. The need for joint replacements will increase as the population ages. More than 90% of hip and/or knee replacements survive for 10–15 years. Prosthesis selection needs to be tailored to each patient, although rationalisation ...

John A L Hart FRACS, FAOrthA, FACSP(Hon)

In the financial year ending June 2002, 26 689 hip replacements and 26 089 knee replacements (total, 52 778) were performed in Australia. Hip and knee replacement procedures have increased between 5%–10% each year for the past 10 years, with a combined increase in hip and knee replacement of 13.4% in the past year. The revision rate for hip replacement surgery in Australia is unknown but is estimated to ...

Stephen E Graves MB BS, DPhil, FAOrth · David Davidson MB BS, FRCSEd, FRACS · Lisa Ingerson RN, MN · Philip Ryan MB BS, BSc, FAFPHM · Elizabeth C Griffith BA, GradDipPH · Brian F J McDermott BBus, MEnvSt, GradDipElecComp · Heather J McElroy BSC(Hons), DipStats · Nicole L Pratt BSc(Hons)

Tissue engineering involves the use of cells (either adult, mesenchymal or embryonic stem cells) coupled with biological or artificial matrices or scaffolds which guide the cells during repair or regeneration of the tissue. Recently discovered and isolated growth factors can promote either adult or stem-cell growth and differentiation along selected pathways to re-form and repair skeletal tissues in adults. Bone repair enhancement and ...

Barry W Oakes MB BS, MD

It is a pleasure to be able to add my thoughts to this Supplement. Even though I may not have as many qualifications as most of the other participants, I do have an intimate understanding of surgery and what it means to be a patient. In my 32 years, I have experienced a wide range of procedures, including two total hip replacements, a bilateral total knee ...

Benjamin A J Horgan