Falls may be due to avoidable side effects of medication, to correctable gait and balance disorders, to impaired vision, or to environmental hazards. Protective padding might reduce the risk of fracture for individuals who are at risk of falling. Orthopaedic surgeons recognize that efforts to reduce the number of hip fractures in America will be successful only with collaboration and cooperation with other allied medical specialties including primary health care providers. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has joined with other groups, such as the National Osteoporosis Foundation in a Position Statement on Osteoporosis, to provide educational materials and support of programs to reduce the frequency of hip and other fractures. Focused research is required to determine the most effective and least costly ways of preventing osteoporosis and fracture-causing falls.
Research also is needed to determine the optimal treatments for hip fractures.
Emphasis must be placed on maximizing functional outcome, avoiding medical and surgical complications, and developing systems and protocols for effective rehabilitation. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons supports the efforts of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stimulate greater understanding of hip fracture, and urges allocation of further governmental and private support for research and education targeted at reducing the burden posed by hip fractures, the costliest of musculoskeletal injuries. This investment will help significantly to reducing the financial burden of health care for all Americans. This statement is endorsed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Osteoporosis Foundation. This material may not be modified without the express written permission of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.