Patient, healthcare professional or researcher -- child, teen, adult or senior -- if you're visiting us to answer a question, to find information, or to participate in a Decade activity, thank your bones and joints for bringing you here. Think about it: if the bones and joints in your body are strong and flexible, they move smoothly. And that means life can be fun, and appreciated fully.

For more than 35 million Americans -- that is one in seven people -- movement is restricted by a musculoskeletal disorder - arthritis, back pain, fracture, osteoporosis, or sports trauma. That's where the United States Bone and Joint Decade comes in.

As part of the worldwide Bone and Joint Decade initiative, U.S. patient and physician healthcare organizations, government agencies, and industry, have come together to improve prevention of bone and joint disorders, and to improve the quality of life for those affected. This goal begins with increased awareness, solid information and increased research. It begins here.

• Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States: Prevalence, Societal and Economic Cost - Presenting a compelling argument for greater understanding and expanding research
  


• Experts in Arthritis - A Free Public Seminar for People with Arthritis and People who Care About Them
  


• Fit to a T - An Education Program on Bone Health and Osteoporosis
  


• Medical school curriculum recommendations
  


• National Action Week - October 12-20
  


• PB&J - Protect Your Bones and Joints - A High School Education Program
  


• Ponseti Clubfoot Clinics
  


• Rare Bone Disease Patient Network
  


• USBJD Newsletter
  


• Young Investigators Initiative