22 Mar 2020

Across the world, musculoskeletal disorders are a major cause of disability, morbidity and mortality.

With more than 150 conditions that could cause pain and reduced physical function, such conditions share the same risk factors as other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyle.

In an interview, Princess Marina Hospital principal public relations officer, Mr Donnell Kutlapye said back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fractures were among the most disabling musculoskeletal conditions and posed major threats to healthy ageing by limiting physical and mental capacities as well as functional ability.

Mr Kutlapye indicated that in Botswana, the elderly were the vulnerable group affected by arthritis, with an increase in the number of those affected every year. He said approximately one in three people worldwide lived with chronic, painful musculoskeletal condition.

He said musculoskeletal health was thus essential for maintaining economic, social and functional independence, as well as human capital across the life course.

Also, he said impaired musculoskeletal health was responsible for the greatest loss of productive life years in the workforce compared with other NCDs, commonly resulting in early retirement and reduced financial security.

He indicated that in subsistence communities and low and middle-income economies, impaired musculoskeletal health had profound consequences on an individual’s ability to participate in social roles and in the prosperity of communities.

He stated that the burden of disease profiles were shifting from communicable, neonatal, maternal and nutritional health conditions to predominantly long-term NCDs, commonly including musculoskeletal conditions.

Nonetheless, Mr Kutlapye noted that the Orthopaedic Surgery department at Princess Marina Hospital was a busy unit with a Centre of Excellence in Arthroplasty, which he said was the first to start Arthroplasty in the public service in 2009.

Arthroplasty, he explained is a surgical procedure designed to replace worn-out articular surfaces of a joint with an artificial construct.

It has been called ‘the operation of the century’ as it transformed lives of people suffering from arthritis and allowed them to become free from pain and restored their function.

Mr Kutlapye said the centre had, since 2016, successfully completed more than 180 hip and knee Arthroplasty with outcomes comparable to the best international joint registry data.

He said the total hip surgeries stood at 84, knee surgeries at 96.

Such surgeries, he said were performed with limited resources in a public institution, resulting in saving millions of Pula for government.

Mr Kutlapye also noted that the Arthroplasty unit had, for the first time in Botswana, embarked on a structured Ortho-geriatric Fracture neck of Femur service where elderly people who fell and sustained hip fracture were quickly operated and assisted in getting out of the bed, thus reducing overall morbidity and mortality.

He indicated that the elderly as old as 101 years with fractures of the hip had benefited from the structured approach.

In addition, Mr Kutlapye said the Arthroplasty team had, for the first time in Botswana, sourced and used some of the best implants in the world with excellent outcomes in international joint registries for the benefit of Batswana.

Meanwhile, Mr Kutlapye encouraged arthritis patients to remain physically active for general health and also for quality of their bones.

He also highlighted that post-operative exercise after surgery for arthritis, improved surgery outcome.

Further, he highlighted that with regular exercise, patients with arthritis could experience less pain, improved function, better sleep and improved activities of daily living, adding ‘in that way, they would be moving forward a mission to see a healthy nation by 2023.’ ends