Emily Zyborowicz
Chicago Tribune Orthopaedic Health Supplement
Musculoskeletal diseases and injuries including osteoporosis, arthritis, and bone fractures account for a majority of disabilities in the U.S., particularly among the growing population of patients over the age of 50. This impels orthopaedic researchers to accelerate the rate at which more precise diagnostic tools and cost-effective, reliable treatment options become available.
According to Dr. Joshua J. Jacobs, MD, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center, evidence-based medicine will help shape the future of musculoskeletal surgery by providing orthopaedists with a solid understanding of which patients will respond best to which treatments. This evidence will be provided by high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials that compare the efficacy and cost efficiency of different types of surgical and non-surgical treatments, as well as the use of various materials and biological agents in implants. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AA OS) is advocating the launch of a national joint registry, which would track the results of joint replacement surgeries across the U.S. Giving surgeons access to such a registry would allow them to assess procedures and types of implants based on their performance across populations. This will help to reduce the number of failed prostheses and lead to better patient outcomes and lower health care costs.
According to Dr. Jacobs, early intervention can greatly curtail the effects of musculoskeletal diseases on patients in many cases. Biotechnology research is playing a key role in developing advanced detection and diagnostic tools to help. The development of genetic tests that can predict a patient's likelihood of ever developing an orthopaedic disorder will lead to better prevention strategies, and evaluating the genetic composition of patients' tissue will one day help surgeons predict how patients will react to different surgeries. In addition, establishing biomarkers for orthopaedic diseases will allow doctors to pinpoint the disorder more accurately than by interpreting x-rays or evaluating clinical symptoms.
Orthopaedic tissue engineering is a growing area of study that uses engineering principles to regenerate tissues that are vital to the musculoskeletal system, including cartilage, bone, tendons and ligaments. The goal of researchers is for patients whose joints have become damaged due to worn cartilage to eventually receive implants made from new cartilage and bone constructs grown in a lab rather than from the artificial materials currently being used.
In an effort to minimize pain and invasiveness while increasing success rates, computer- and robot-assisted orthopaedic surgeries will also become more commonplace.
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