People living with conditions like arthritis also commonly experience high levels of fatigue, stiffness and loss of mobility and dexterity. Together these symptoms can steal life’s fundamentals, affecting how we move, think, sleep, feel, and even our ability to work and spend quality time with loved ones. 

The state of musculoskeletal health is a compendium of statistics that:

1. 1. Aims to provide the best picture available of the current prevalence UK-wide
   2. Shows the number of people at risk of developing these conditions
   3. Highlights the subsequent impact of MSK conditions on people’s lives, in the wider health system and society.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of peripheral joint arthritis and cause of disability in the UK. It affects mainly the knee, hip, hand and feet joints. It is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterised by involvement of all joint structures including the synovial membrane, cartilage and bone. People with osteoarthritis have joint pain, stiffness, reduced participation in daily activities and poor quality of life. In the UK approximately 8.5 million people have painful joints attributed to osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is more common in women and people in older age groups; X-ray studies show that at least 50% of people older than 65 have evidence of osteoarthritis. Obesity is another common risk factor. This, along with the aging population, is contributing to the increasing number of people with osteoarthritis.

The total cost to the UK economy is estimated at 1% of annual gross national product. In 1999/2000, 36 million working days were lost because of osteoarthritis, costing the economy nearly £3.2 billion in lost production and there are indications this figure has increased to 2022, (awaiting confirmation of latest figures, 2022)

Help save the impact on our NHS Service

The impact financially on the NHS exceeds £9 billion per annum, a direct cost to the National Health Service (NHS) (Morone et al., 2011) and does not satisfy the need for further services as the NHS can only fund a limited number of medical sessions per individual.

Looking beyond land-based treatments is the solution