Bone and Joint Decade  
  The prevalence of musculo-skeletal disorders and the cost to treat them led the World Health Organization and the United Nations to declare 2000-2010 be the Decade committed to improving quality of life to people with bone and joint disease and injuries throughout the world. 
 

UN Secretary General
Kofi A. Annan		 "Musculo-skeletal conditions are crippling diseases that are the most common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability, affecting hundreds of millions of people across the world. The extent of human suffering is expected to worsen as people live longer and the number of accidents increases. Resulting health problems will cause significant economic burden, escalating the amount of money governments will need to spend and potentially denying patients the right to necessary treatments and rehabilitation."

 "The increasing age of the population will produce an increase in surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. The risk of this type of surgery requires studies to determine the natural history of the condition, the risk/benefit ratios of surgery with and without spinal fusion, and the relative benefits of non-surgical treatments."

- The Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Inaugural Meeting: April 17 and 18, 1998, Lund, Sweden.

 

  
  The World Health Organization has declared 2000-2010 the Bone and Joint Decade, click to find out more.