The global message of the BJD is to ‘keep people moving’ which is central to our strategy for the prevention and control of MSC’s. The BJD has a track record of supporting and initiating programmes to deliver prevention and control:
BJD Global Minimum Standards of Care
Chronic Pain & Hip Fractures
Based on the outcome of collaboration over the last year, working parties from the BJD International Steering Committee have formulated the Bone and Joint Decade Global Minimum Standards of Care for Musculoskeletal Health in two crucial areas: the first is Chronic Pain, focusing on evidence-based recommendations to improve treatment. The second is Hip Fractures, specifically, determination of risk factors for osteoporosisrelated fractures, strategies for prevention, and the appropriate care pathways. These recommendations were adopted globally by delegates at the BJD World Network Conference in 2007 and have been put forth for international response through publication in leading scientific journals.
Professor Peter Brooks, Australia, and Professor Nicholas Walsh, USA, have led the development of the Chronic Pain Recommendations. Professor Kristina Åkesson, Sweden and Dr Kenneth Koval, USA have led the Hip Fracture work. All are members of the BJD International Steering Committee.
Orthopaedic Surgeons Initiative
Improving Knowledge of Osteoporosis Diagnosis & Treatment
Orthopaedic departments now have access to the tool they need to rise to the challenge of recognising osteoporosis patients when they first present, and directing them to an appropriate care-pathway. Produced by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) and the International Society for Fracture Repair (ISFR), this new osteoporosis education kit was developed to help orthopaedic surgeons to better diagnose and treat the ‘brittle bone’ disease which causes one in three women and one in five men over the age of 50 to suffer a fracture of the hip, wrist, or vertebra.
A multiparty initiative of these three key players in the worldwide fight against osteoporosis, the Orthopaedic Surgeons Initiative aims to raise osteoporosis awareness amongst orthopaedists and provide clear clinical pathways for fragility fracture patients after the first fracture occurs, in an effort to avoid further fractures. The new educational package, freely available on the Bone and Joint Decade website www.bjdonline.org, includes four cutting-edge lectures on osteoporosis, geared specifically for orthopaedic surgeons, plus a summary lecture to wrap-up all of the information presented.
Fragility Fracture Network
A network to improve fragility fracture management
In recent years experts in orthopaedics and in osteoporosis have recognised the urgent need to improve the overall management of patients with fragility and osteoporosis-related fractures. To this end, the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN), an international organisation, was launched by the BJD in 2009. FFN, a non-profit scientific body, is dedicated to improving osteoporosis management by creating a line of care from the moment the fracture occurs, until the fracture is healed and the patient is rehabilitated. This also includes secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures working in collaboration with other related organisations. Osteoporosis, in which the bones become fragile and fracture easily, is known as a silent killer because many of the 30 million people effected worldwide do not know they have it, and if left untreated, can be fatal. Osteoporosis affects one in every three women and one in every five men, over the age of 50 in countries throughout the world. The focus group for this initiative began with orthopaedic surgeons but other professionals are involved in the care pathway, e.g. radiologists, rehabilitation therapists, and so on. Headquartered in Switzerland, the FFN hopes that through this initiative fracture management can be improved by increasing the competence among those persons taking care of fragility fracture patients either in hospital or in primary and extended care with the ultimate goal of preventing further fractures.
BJD Research Award and Scholarship
The Bone and Joint Decade Award and Scholarship for Research in Osteoarthritis addresses the growing interest in OA within the scientific community and the burden of the disease on the aging population. Fueling this interest is clear recognition that the Decade aims to support and advance research in musculoskeletal science. The BJD Award of 25,000 euro is awarded every second year and is intended to honour researchers or scientists working on experimental or clinical cartilage research in osteoarthritis and will support documented quality research and ongoing relevant projects. In addition, three BJD Scholarships, each of 2500 euro are awarded to support ongoing research, educational activities, or research-related travel for young investigators within the same field. For more information about the BJD Award and Scholarship and to download an application form, please visit www.bjdonline.org
Recommendations for Undergraduate Medical Curriculum
The Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Education developed Recommendations for Core Competencies which all doctors should have at the point of graduation from any medical school. The recommendations emphasise training in basic knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions and the acquisition of essential clinical skills for diagnosis and treatment and Included are proposals for who should teach the facts about musculoskeletal disease, in what settings, and at what stages of the curriculum in graduate health professional schools.
Guideines by the BJD Task Force on Neck Pain
A ground breaking report by the BJD Task Force on Neck Pain A project begun in 2000 at the start of the Decade, the findings of the BJD Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders, is set to make a significant impact on the manner in which neck pain is perceived, treated and studied around the world. The multidisciplinary, international Task Force led by Prof Scott Haldeman from the University of California in Irvine and in Los Angeles, involved more than 50 researchers based in 9 countries and represented 14 different clinical and scientific disciplines in 8 universities. The group assembled the best international research data on neck pain and related disorders – specifically more than 31,000 research citations with subsequent analysis of over 1,000 studies – making this monumental document one of the most extensive reports on the subject of neck pain ever developed, and offering the most current expert perspective on the evidence related to the treatment of neck pain.
European Bone and Joint Health Strategies Project
This project, supported by the European Community and completed in 2004, was a collaboration between the Bone and Joint Decade, the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), European Federation of National Associations for Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT), the International Osteoporosis Federation (IOF), and experts from the fields of rheumatology, orthopaedics, public health, and health promotion from all EU member countries. The goal of the project was to shape EU policies pertaining to musculoskeletal conditions and to develop health strategies from prevention to rehabilitation that can be employed at national, regional, and local levels to reduce the burden of bone and joint conditions. The resulting document, European Action Towards Better Musculoskeletal Health (editors: AD Woolf, K Åkesson, J Compston,KG Thorngren, R Van Riel) was published in 2005.