Bone and Joint Action Week

Overview

Bone and Joint Action Week is held annually October 12-20 with activities focused on disorders including arthritis, back pain, trauma, pediatric conditions, and osteoporosis. The themes and their related activities are designed to raise awareness worldwide about prevention, disease management and treatment. 

You will find activities to do and ways to become better informed below. But before that, take a look at some facts:

  • More than half the American population over the age of 18 - 54 percent - are affected by musculoskeletal (bone and joint) conditions, according to The Burden of Musculoskeletal Conditions in the United States.(1)
  • One in three (33%) people over the age of 18 required medical care for a musculoskeletal condition in each of the years 2009 to 2011, a 19% increase over the last decade.(2)
  • Bone and joint conditions are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability worldwide affecting hundreds of millions of people.(3)
  • Musculoskeletal conditions include back pain, arthritis, traumatic injuries, osteoporosis, spinal deformity, and childhood conditions.
  • The global prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions is predicted to increase greatly due to increasing life expectancy and changes in risk factors unless new treatments and preventive measures are found.
  • Musculoskeletal conditions can lead to significant disability plus diminished productivity and quality of life. Treatment and lost wage costs associated with musculoskeletal diseases in the U.S. alone was estimated at $874 billion in 2009 to 2011 - equal to 5.73 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).(2)
  • Research funding is currently less than 2 percent of the National Institutes of Health annual budget, and continues to decline each year despite the high costs associated with injuries, arthritis, and back pain.
  • Since 2011, when "Baby Boomers" became beneficiaries of Medicare, the economic and societal cost of bone and joint health escalated and is expected to continue for decades.
Now is the time to raise awareness - and the reason for Bone and Joint Action Week.
 
There are five special days during Action Week.
  • October 12 - World Arthritis Day
  • October 16 - World Spine Day
  • October 17 - World Trauma Day
  • October 19 - World Pediatric Bone and Joint (PB&J) Day
  • October 20 - World Osteoporosis Day

World Arthritis Day – October 12

The theme is Don’t Delay, Connect Today – Time2Work. Early diagnosis is so important. View inspirational events taking place worldwide to raise awareness, add your own event and share photos! To learn more, visit www.worldarthritisday.org.

The United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI) offers Experts in Arthritis, a public education program for people with arthritis and for people who care about them.  Patient advocates and healthcare professionals including rheumatologist, physical therapists, orthopaedic surgeons, nurses, and occupational therapists present sessions covering current scientific evidence for the treatment and self-management of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, and answer questions related to current knowledge about arthritis care.

Visit ControlArthritis.org and view our videos. See how Roberta and Teresa learned to take control of their arthritis. Disponible en Español. 
 

World Spine Day – October 16

 

The theme for 2020 is Back on Track! 

 

With the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic affecting millions of people worldwide, lockdown restrictions have led to a lack of physical activity that has made people more susceptible to spinal pain and disability.

World Spine Day 2020 will focus on getting people BACK ON TRACK to revitalize their spines and restore spinal health and well-being.

We’re inviting governments, communities, organizations, associations, health professionals – anyone with an interest in spinal pain and disability – to get involved. World Spine Day 2020 will provide an opportunity to raise awareness of the global burden of spine pain and help people to get BACK ON TRACK by organizing and participating in events and initiatives.

This campaign will be the spinal public health event of 2020. Our vision is a world of healthier spines –  help us to get the world get BACK ON TRACK!  visit www.worldspineday.org.
 

World Pediatric Bone and Joint (PB&J) Day – October 19

The theme for 2020 is, Children and Broken Bones-Help Stop the Epidemic

Injuries are the leading cause of death in children and teenagers around the world, accounting for 20,000 deaths per year in the United States alone, and more than 70 percent of these deaths are the result of unintentional injuries. 
The leading causes of unintentional injuries vary by age and include falls, motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian-related crashes.  read more....
 

WPB&J Day 2019.png

2019 themes - Children Get Arthritis Too! and Youth Sports Specialization Can Be Detrimental To Future Success
2018 theme - Clubfoot Can be Corrected Non-Surgically
2017 theme - Kids, Bones, Joints & Obesity - Tips for Parents and Patients, and Primary Care Providers
2015 theme - Childhood and Adolescent ACL Injuries - High number of Knee injuries in girls on the rise with prevention key 
2014 theme - The Adolescent Female Athlete Triad - The Female Athlete Triad: Health Pitfalls for Adolescents
2012 theme - Kids and Vitamin D Deficiency - Kids and Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Handout
2011 theme - Kids and the Effects of Obesity on the Musculoskeletal System - The Growth Plate, and Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE)
2010 theme - Obesity - Kids and the Effects of Obesity on the Musculoskeletal System

World Osteoporosis Day - October 20

The 2020 World Osteoporosis Day awareness campaign, “That's Osteoporosis,” featured in this year’s WOD campaign will be used in creative, visual resources designed to improve understanding of osteoporosis and its outcome. Specifically, to: - improve understanding of the link between osteoporosis and broken bones - reveal the human and socio-economic costs of fractures through impactful patient portraits - encourage the public to check their personal risk for osteoporosis by driving use of the new IOF Osteoporosis Risk Check. The campaign will make use of powerful, emotionally charged portraits of individual patients from all regions of the world. To learn more, visit www.worldosteoporosisday.org.


The United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI) offers Fit to a T, a public education program on bone health and osteoporosis designed to help Americans learn more about bone health, as well as the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis.

 

Visit Fit2T.org and view our video...meet Sylvia. Disponible en Español.

2018-2019 theme - This is a Sign
2017 theme - Love Your Bones: Protect your Future! 
2016 theme - Love Your Bones 
2015 theme - Serve Up Bone Strength 


(1) United States Bone and Joint Initiative: The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States. Rosemont, IL; 2014. http://www.boneandjointburden.org/2014-report/ib0/prevalence-select-medical-conditions. Accessed July 9, 2015.
(2) United States Bone and Joint Initiative: The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States. Rosemont, IL; 2014. http://www.boneandjointburden.org/2014-report/if0/health-care-utilization-and-economic-cost. Accessed July 9, 2015.
(3) Woolf AD, Pfleger B. Burden of major musculoskeletal conditions. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2003;81:646-656.