Silent Epidemic: Osteoarthritis

Silent Epidemic: Osteoarthritis 

There is a silent epidemic that is affecting almost all Americans today.  It is the epidemic that is causing pain. It is the epidemic that is silent and people don’t know about it until it is too late.  This is osteoarthritis.

The reality is 96% of adults around 80 years old will have developed arthritis in their life, according to the American Journal of Neuroradiology. And 85% of adults by the age of 50 are going to develop arthritis. So, it’s not a matter of if it is going to happen, it is a matter of when. It has come to epidemic proportions right now because more people – than ever before – are having joint pain. This and the Opiod epidemic is getting worse because the treatment for joint pain and OA is with pain relievers rather than getting to the root cause of the problem.

The CDC (Center of Disease Control and Prevention) is well aware that arthritis is at an all time high and it is going to double by the year 2020. But, not much is being said or mentioned about it.  There is not a day that goes by that we don’t get an inquiry about someone that has joint pain, back pain, or knee pain.

Patients often question why and how degeneration can develop without them having any pain? Usually you get warning signs.  Signs like being stiff and being sore. These are warning signs that degeneration is developing in the body.

We are working to create a spinal hygiene movement right now, to change the face of osteoarthritis. The problem is that we are working against this perfect storm that is beginning to develop because arthritis, degenerative disc disease, and joint disease – these are silent diseases.

There has not been any interest in changing.  Back/Knee surgeries are very profitable. Prescription medications for pain are very profitable.  There is a lack of interest in changing and preventing this from happening because of $$.

This same thing happened to the dentistry field back in the early 1900s.  What dentists noticed is that teeth were constantly rotting. And to get rid of the issue, they pulled teeth.  Until a dentist by the name of Alfred Fones came along and said, There has to be a way to prevent this from happening. Just years prior, the dental field found out that there was a bacteria from food that caused acid to eat up the teeth, as we know today. So Fones said, If I started to take care of the teeth and create an oral hygiene program of cleaning the teeth a few times a year. Plus brushing the teeth, could we prevent this? Which is where we are today with over 50% of Americans going to the dentist to keep their teeth clean. It certainly is not even enough, but it has made a huge impact on the amount of dental cavities and teeth being pulled.

This is the same situation that dentists were dealing with in the early 1900s.  Spines and Joints and rotting and degenerating.

The most common joints today that are degenerating is the spine (the neck and the back) which are $100k surgeries. The second most common is the knees and the hips.  The cost for replacements is about $50k. Shoulders are next, and then the hands and feet. *Now, the hands and feet, that’s a different story, the arthritis there is going to be more of an autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis.

Join our spinal hygiene movement in starting to reduce spinal decay and degeneration that is happening within the spine and creating so many problems within people.