• Approximately 16 million Americans, mostly over the age of 65, suffer from osteoarthritis, including one in three Americans over the age of 60. America’s growing obesity epidemic is adding to the number of young and old people with osteoarthritis.1

  • Osteoarthritis is the number one cause of disability in the United States, leading to daily limitations for 8 million people. Annually, osteoarthritis leads to 36 million outpatient visits and 4 million hospital days.2 The effects of osteoarthritis cost the U.S. economy $86 billion ($51 billion in medical costs and $35 billion in indirect costs).3

  • Total hip replacement surgery involves replacing the head of the thigh bone and the hip socket with a durable artificial hip made of a strong metal or ceramic. The artificial joint may be cemented in position or held securely in the bone without cement. Hip replacement surgery today is less invasive, has a shorter recovery time and improved patient outcomes when compared with the past few decades. More than 300,000 people annually return to active lives because of hip replacement surgery.4
Remarkable Advances in Total Joint Replacement5
197319932002
Incision size8"–10"6"–10"4"– 6"
Length of hospital stay12.5 days5.5 days4 days
Recovery timeSeveral weeks in the hospital10 days3-4 days, minimally invasive outpatient procedure
Featured improvementsCement used for implants, not as durable and led to cracks. Ten-year implant life.Increased use of non-cemented implants that encouraged bone growth into the implant.Ceramic, metal on metal and improved polyethylene implants improved durability and implant life to 15 years or more.


  1. DynoMed.com. “Hip and thigh: Osteoarthritis of the Hip.”http://www.dynomed.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/hip and thigh/Osteoarthritis of the_Hip.html(28 April 2006).

  2. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. “Total knee replacement fact sheet.” http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thrreport.cfm?ThreadID=513&topcategory=Knee (18 April 2006).

  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Arthritis Fact Sheet.” http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/fs040513.htm(4 May 2006).

  4. Stryker. “Treating hip pain.” http://www.aboutstryker.com/hip/facts/treatment.php (25 April 2006).
  5. Industry estimates. 2006.
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