A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome”

Kozo Nakamura

doi:10.1007/s00776-007-1202-6

Nakamura, Kozo

2008-02-16 00:00:00

J Orthop Sci (2008) 13:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s00776-007-1202-6 Editorial KOZO NAKAMURA President, The Japanese Orthopaedic Association; Orthopaedic Surgery, Sensory and Motor System Medicine, Surgical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan The population of Japan is aging very rapidly. According answer questions from orthopedic patients, a lecture to an estimate made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs delivered through the mass media once a year, and dis- and Communications on Keiro no Hi (Respect for the tribution of informative brochures to the public. Aged Day, a national holiday, the third Monday of In 2000, the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) was September), people aged 65 and over numbered launched at the headquarters of the World Health Orga- 27 440 000 in 2007, which is 22% of the population. Both nization in Geneva. The goal of the BJD is to improve ﬁ gures set new records. Those aged 80 and above num- the health-related quality of life of people with muscu- bered 7 130 000, exceeding 7 000 000 for the ﬁ rst time. loskeletal disorders throughout the world, and to raise Because a society is considered relatively old when over awareness of the suffering and cost to society associated 8%–10% of its population is 65 or older, Japan can with joint diseases, osteoporosis, spinal disorders and already be seen as a “super-aged” society. other related conditions. In response to this interna- An aging population inevitably has a great impact tional movement, a BJD initiative was launched by the on social systems, including public health. To cope with JOA, and the BJD Japan National Action Network was Japan’s rapid change in age demographics, a new insur- organized by 45 medical societies and four sports orga- ance system, Kaigo Hoken (Nursing Care Insurance), nizations in May 2000. The acronym “BJD” was trans- was introduced in 2000. The number of elderly who lated into Japanese as Undouki no Junen: undouki need nursing care is increasing; 4 300 000 individuals means “locomotive organs” and junen means “decade”. actually received such services in 2006, and this increase Thus, the JOA linked the Undouki no Junen movement in demand for nursing care poses a great challenge for with the Hone to Kansetsu no Hi movement and has the system. The reasons for which services were needed been playing a central role in promoting awareness of were stroke (25.7%), senility (16.3%), falls/fractures orthopedic problems in Japan. (10.8%), dementia (10.7%), joint disorders (10.6%), The Japanese word undouki refers to the organs that and others. Orthopedic problems are unquestionably move the body, and therefore includes bones, joints, liga- one of the main reasons for nursing care, and this fact ments, muscles, the spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. should be more widely recognized by society. Although the word undouki was somewhat unfamiliar In 1994, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) to Japanese people at the beginning of the movement, decided to designate October 8th as Hone to Kansetsu it is gradually being recognized through the above no Hi (Bone and Joint Day) in order to publicize to the efforts. However, I believe that further activities aimed general public the importance of locomotive organs. at educating the general public in this respect are Since then, the JOA has devoted various educational necessary. efforts to increasing public awareness of the importance Faced with an aging population and a declining birth of each individual’s locomotive organs through the rate, the Japanese Government has undertaken a Hone to Kansetsu no Hi movement, such as open lec- comprehensive reform of the health-care system and tures for citizens offered in many locations throughout released the Cabinet Ofﬁ ce’s report “New Health Fron- the year, “call-in” programs in October of each year to tier Strategy” in April 2007. The report identiﬁ ed nine areas that require government intervention: nursing care was taken up together with cancer, metabolic syn- drome, women’s health, children’s health, mental health, Offprint requests to: K. Nakamura Received: November 14, 2007 and others. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2 K. Nakamura: A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome” then announced a concrete strategy to decrease demand evident in this high-risk group. If this term can be easily for nursing care, which involved the establishment of a remembered by the general public, it is hoped that new fund for scientiﬁ c research focusing on locomotive more attention will be given to the prevention of ability in the elderly. This research will focus on early “undouki diseases”. If people can evaluate their own detection of any decline in locomotive ability caused by locomotive ability using the simple tests proposed, they “undouki diseases” and on early action to prevent their might recognize the value of early prevention more deterioration. easily. With the growth of the “super-aged” society, the People are now looking for easy-to-understand role of orthopedic surgery will undoubtedly become medical services. The JOA plans to develop simple pre- more prominent. Therefore the JOA will continue to tests to assess an individual’s locomotive ability and emphasize to the general public the importance of pre- to identify those who are at risk and are highly likely to venting “locomotive syndrome” and will continue its need nursing care. We propose that the term “locomo- efforts to provide high-quality orthopedic treatment for tive syndrome” be adopted to designate the condition those in need.

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$J Orthop Sci (2008) 13:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s00776-007-1202-6 Editorial KOZO NAKAMURA President, The Japanese Orthopaedic Association; Orthopaedic Surgery, Sensory and Motor System Medicine, Surgical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan The population of Japan is aging very rapidly. According answer questions from orthopedic patients, a lecture to an estimate made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs delivered through the mass media once a year, and dis- and Communications on Keiro no Hi (Respect for the tribution of informative brochures to the public. Aged Day, a national holiday, the third Monday of In 2000, the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) was September), people aged 65 and over numbered launched at the headquarters of the World Health Orga- 27 440 000 in 2007, which is 22% of the population. Both nization in Geneva. The goal of the BJD is to improve ﬁ gures set new records. Those aged 80 and above num- the health-related quality of life of people with muscu- bered 7 130 000, exceeding 7 000 000 for the ﬁ rst time. loskeletal disorders throughout the world, and to raise Because a society is considered relatively old when over awareness of the suffering and cost to society associated 8%–10% of its population is 65 or older, Japan can with joint diseases, osteoporosis, spinal disorders and already be seen as a “super-aged” society. other related conditions. In response to this interna- An aging population inevitably has a great impact tional movement, a BJD initiative was launched by the on social systems, including public health. To cope with JOA, and the BJD Japan National Action Network was Japan’s rapid change in age demographics, a new insur- organized by 45 medical societies and four sports orga- ance system, Kaigo Hoken (Nursing Care Insurance), nizations in May 2000. The acronym “BJD” was trans- was introduced in 2000. The number of elderly who lated into Japanese as Undouki no Junen: undouki need nursing care is increasing; 4 300 000 individuals means “locomotive organs” and junen means “decade”. actually received such services in 2006, and this increase Thus, the JOA linked the Undouki no Junen movement in demand for nursing care poses a great challenge for with the Hone to Kansetsu no Hi movement and has the system. The reasons for which services were needed been playing a central role in promoting awareness of were stroke (25.7%), senility (16.3%), falls/fractures orthopedic problems in Japan. (10.8%), dementia (10.7%), joint disorders (10.6%), The Japanese word undouki refers to the organs that and others. Orthopedic problems are unquestionably move the body, and therefore includes bones, joints, liga- one of the main reasons for nursing care, and this fact ments, muscles, the spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. should be more widely recognized by society. Although the word undouki was somewhat unfamiliar In 1994, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) to Japanese people at the beginning of the movement, decided to designate October 8th as Hone to Kansetsu it is gradually being recognized through the above no Hi (Bone and Joint Day) in order to publicize to the efforts. However, I believe that further activities aimed general public the importance of locomotive organs. at educating the general public in this respect are Since then, the JOA has devoted various educational necessary. efforts to increasing public awareness of the importance Faced with an aging population and a declining birth of each individual’s locomotive organs through the rate, the Japanese Government has undertaken a Hone to Kansetsu no Hi movement, such as open lec- comprehensive reform of the health-care system and tures for citizens offered in many locations throughout released the Cabinet Ofﬁ ce’s report “New Health Fron- the year, “call-in” programs in October of each year to tier Strategy” in April 2007. The report identiﬁ ed nine areas that require government intervention: nursing care was taken up together with cancer, metabolic syn- drome, women’s health, children’s health, mental health, Offprint requests to: K. Nakamura Received: November 14, 2007 and others. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2 K. Nakamura: A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome” then announced a concrete strategy to decrease demand evident in this high-risk group. If this term can be easily for nursing care, which involved the establishment of a remembered by the general public, it is hoped that new fund for scientiﬁ c research focusing on locomotive more attention will be given to the prevention of ability in the elderly. This research will focus on early “undouki diseases”. If people can evaluate their own detection of any decline in locomotive ability caused by locomotive ability using the simple tests proposed, they “undouki diseases” and on early action to prevent their might recognize the value of early prevention more deterioration. easily. With the growth of the “super-aged” society, the People are now looking for easy-to-understand role of orthopedic surgery will undoubtedly become medical services. The JOA plans to develop simple pre- more prominent. Therefore the JOA will continue to tests to assess an individual’s locomotive ability and emphasize to the general public the importance of pre- to identify those who are at risk and are highly likely to venting “locomotive syndrome” and will continue its need nursing care. We propose that the term “locomo- efforts to provide high-quality orthopedic treatment for tive syndrome” be adopted to designate the condition those in need.$

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A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome”

A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome”

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A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome”

A “super-aged” society and the “locomotive syndrome”

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