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More people over 50 having knee replacement surgery

Friday 20th January 2012

Knee replacement surgery is rapidly increasing in middle-aged men and women, according to new research by doctors and those in a physiotherapy job in Finland.

The team at the country's Helsinki University Central Hospital found that in the past 27 years there has been a significant rise in the number of people going under the knife to stop many common problems related with old age. Whilst there had been an increase with the surgery for people aged between 30 and 59, the biggest rise was in the 50 to 59 age bracket.

Doctors and scientists believe there are many explanations for why people feel need the urge to have surgery in order to improve their quality of life but the main complaint is the debilitating condition known as osteoarthritis (OA). In 2002, the disease was named as the fourth biggest cause of disability and statistics have shown that over ten million in the US are affected by it.

OA is a major problem in the UK with NHS figures revealing that 140,000 people across England and Wales needing either hip or knee replacement surgery every year. Over the other side of the Atlantic the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality believes that there are 600,000 sufferers within the US and it expects that figure to jump by a staggering 673 per cent to 3.48 million by the year 2030.

Dr. Jarkko Leskinen, an orthopedic surgeon at the Finnish university, said: "Our study confirmed rapid growth in incidences of partial and total knee arthroplasty in those less than 60 years of age. Given that younger patients may be at higher risk of artificial knee joint failure and thus in need of a second replacement surgery, long-term data are needed before widespread use of total knee arthroplasty is recommended for this patient population."

Researchers at Yale University found that walking became increasingly difficult in people once they reach an elderly age. The team highlighted that hospitalisation and lack of physical activity can lead to a person becoming disabled and therefore less independent.

written by Mathew Horton