Overview

For nearly a century, Mayo's Orthopedic Research Division has been involved in advances to alleviate suffering from musculoskeletal disorders. Problems identified in the clinic are taken to the laboratory bench for study, and the results are then translated back into clinical practice. Currently, 24 funded investigators, many of them active clinicians, with nearly $7,000,000 in annual funding, are doing research in 10 basic research laboratories, and performing clinical trials and other clinical research in virtually every aspect of musculoskeletal pathology. Mayo orthopedic investigators hold dozens of patents, arising from research done in our laboratories, for new designs of joint replacements, fracture fixation implants, and even antibiotic delivery devices, that are being used today in our practice, and around the world. Our laboratories also provide opportunities for the education of new researchers.

Today, Mayo's Orthopedic Research Division looks forward to even greater opportunities to improve the well-being of our patients, as advances in molecular medicine, genomics, and proteomics allow us to investigate revolutionary new treatments for arthritis, cancer, and injuries of all sorts.

Scope of the Problem

Musculoskeletal diseases and musculoskeletal trauma affect hundreds of millions of people around the world. In the US alone, musculoskeletal conditions cost society an estimated $254 BILLION dollars every year. One out of every 7 Americans has a musculoskeletal impairment. The number of people affected by arthritis is expected to reach 60 million within another ten years. Each year, musculoskeletal conditions result in over 100 million office visits and 25 million emergency visits.

Given this considerable burdern of disease, it should not be remarkable that more than 50 nations have united to make 2000-2010 the "Bone and Joint Decade." President Bush has similarly declared a Bone and Joint Decade in the US.