The first decade of this century has been designated by the United Nations as the Decade of Bone and Joint Disease. The Decade was launched internationally in Geneva in January 2000, after almost two years of negotiations by health professionals, led principally by Orthopaedic Surgeons and Rheumatologists.

The Decade has four major aims:

To raise awareness of the growing burden of musculoskeletal disorders in society;

To promote prevention of musculoskeletal disorders and empower patients through education campaigns;

To advance research on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders;

To improve diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders

The Decade offers the opportunity for all those involved in the management of musculoskeletal disorders, patient support organisations and, most importantly, patients themselves to join together to impress upon governments around the world the enormous burden of these conditions.

In Australia musculoskeletal diseases are the second most common cause of presentation to a general practitioner and the third leading cause of health system expenditure. In 1993–94, musculoskeletal diseases accounted for nearly 300,000 hospital admissions, nearly 15 million medical services and over 13 million prescriptions. Significant disability due to musculoskeletal diseases has been noted in more than half of those aged over 55 and is also commonly self-reported in population samples. Indeed osteoarthritis, the most important form of arthritis, accounts for over 5% of years lost due to disability in Australia.

Over 100 countries have now established national coordinators and governments of over 50 countries have endorsed the Decade. A National Coordinating Committee comprising representatives of the Australian Orthopaedic Association, the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society and the Matrix Biology Society have been established. The national launch of the Decade will be held in Melbourne on April 27 with the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care in attendance.

The decade promises to be enormously exciting for patients with rheumatic disorders with a range of new technologies that can address some of the problems posed by these conditions. The Decade offers the opportunity for all of us to work together to further the interests of our patients with musculoskeletal disorders.