Knee and hip pain and deteriorating function damage the quality of life far beyond mobility say 76% of women in a Depuy Synthes survey, released August 20, 2018.
The survey is a new part of a Depuy Synthes campaign begun in 2016, called “Hit Play,”, aimed at educating women ages 45-65 on how joint pain affects their well-being and encourages them to “Hit Play” (that is, ask their doctors about treatment options).
The Focus on Women
Why survey only women?
“[T]hese women are the heroines of their households, often considered the ‘Irreplaceable Woman.’ By identifying and addressing how hip and knee pain impacts the Irreplaceable Woman beyond her mobility and understanding the emotional triggers associated with deciding on joint replacement surgery, we are able to help educate women to speak to their doctor sooner,” said John Wright, M.D., Integrated Leader Medical, Clinical and Pre-Clinical Affairs at DePuy Synthes and former Clinical Director of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, in an emailed response to our question.
“By shining a spotlight on the mental, emotional, and interpersonal struggles of those experiencing hip or knee pain we aim to help women understand…that seeking treatment can help holistically improve their lives.”
Another reason for focusing on women, not cited by Depuy Synthes, is that published studies have concluded that many more women than men are candidates for knee surgery and about as many women as men are candidates for hip arthroplasty, but fewer women choose either surgery, and they tend to wait longer, until the pain is worse:
“Women are more likely than men to suffer from osteoarthritis, and women experience more severe arthritis in the knee…. Although the presentation of osteoarthritis does not differ between men and women, symptom severity does. Additionally, women are three times less likely than men to undergo hip or knee arthroplasty.” – Journal of the AAOS, “Sex Differences in Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee,” by Mary I. O’Connor M.D., who was then Associate Professor of Orthopedics and Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. O’Connor is now Director of the Center for Musculoskeletal Care at Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Health, New Haven, Connecticut.
“There is underuse of arthroplasty for severe arthritis in both sexes, but the degree of underuse is more than three times as great in women as in men,” according to a study, “Differences between Men and Women in the Rate of Use of Hip and Knee Arthroplasty,” New England Journal of Medicine, April 6, 2000.
“Women have a higher incidence of inflammatory arthritis like Rheumatism (actually nearly 9:1),” according to an April 21, 2015 article, “Gender Differences in Joint Replacement,” by Brett Greenky. M.D. and Seth Greenky, M.D., of Syracuse Orthopedics Specialists, with offices around Syracuse, New York.
