By 2030, more than sixty percent of the baby boomer generation could have multiple chronic conditions (Garza). As the aging population grows, the health care system will change in a series of different ways such as needing more medical assistants or doctors to help treat the patient’s maladies, expanding health care facilities, and taking on financial issues. The continuous development in treatment and technology have allowed individuals to live longer because diseases now can be diagnosed and treated in earlier stages. Older individuals are susceptible to a wide number of health conditions because their bodily functions do not work as well as they used to when they were younger. Medical students prepare to treat and learn about the numerous …show more content…
Arthritis is defined as the inflammation in joints causing the them to become stiff, less flexible, and painful (Simmers). Millions of adults and half of all people over the age 65 are distressed by this ailment along with the other forms of arthritis: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when an individual's cartilage begins to deteriorate allowing the bones to rub together. This is most often diagnosed in the excessively used hands, neck, and lower back, as well as the weight-bearing knees and hips. When diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, the body attacks the lining of a joint leading to inflammation in it. Rheumatoid arthritis does not just attack the joints, but it also attacks significant organs. (“Senior”) To reduce arthritis pain experienced by a person, increased physical activity and self-management education is suggested (“Arthritis”). Osteoporosis, a condition in which bones lose calcium and other minerals, accounts for bone embrittlement. According to Jeffrey Curtis and Monika Safford, “It has been estimated that ten million people in the United States alone have osteoporosis, with almost thirty-four million more having low bone mass. The elderly population accounts for most of the burden, with seventy percent of all fractures sustained by those aged at least 65 years.” (Curtis) These diseases create problems because seniors can easily fall and encounter trouble with fine finger movements leading to extra visits to the hospital. Older adults with arthritis tend to seek care from physical therapists to assist in mobility and flexibility of the joints to alleviate
More people are living much longer lives than in years past. People are very surprised to be living much longer lives than they thought they would. Health care has played a large part in patient longevity. There are many normal changes that come along with aging, however, because people are living longer these normal changes can become chronic problems. Common aging problems that can make the older adult a vulnerable population are reviewed in Gerontological Nursing (Tabloski, 2014) and can include nutritional needs, medication management, sleep changes, oral or mouth care, renal problems and musculoskeletal concerns. According to A Profile of Older Americans: 2013 (http://www.hhs.gov), there are a large amount
The elderly population is growing with 35 million people who are age 65 years or older and half are between the ages of 65 to 74 and the other half are over the age of 75. The population age 85 years or older are the fastest growing population (Dubow, 2017). In 1991 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that 8 out of 10 people over the age of 60 had one or more chronic diseases or impairments which included arthritis, hypertension, hearing impairment, heart disease, cataracts, deformity or orthopedic impairment, chronic sinusitis,
Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is a form of arthritis characterized by the breakdown of cartilage within joints. Cartilage serves to provide cushion at the ends of bones, and when the cushion is not sufficient, as in osteoarthritis, the bones rub together. As a result, osteoarthritis sufferers are constantly plagued by stiff, swollen, and inflamed joints (http://www.arthritis.org/answers/diseasecenter/oa.asp). It is a relatively common condition, with an estimated 20 million American sufferers, most of whom are elderly (http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/1668.50297). Traditional treatments include Tylenol, aspirin, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is most prevalent in older patients. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative bone disease due to the gradual loss of cartilage. A primary type of osteoarthritis is hip arthritis where it is caused by joint injury, increasing age, and being overweight (“Hip Osteoarthritis,” n.d.). However, osteoarthritis can also be caused by immature joints, inherited defects in cartilage, and extra stress on a patient’s joints (Hip Osteoarthritis,” n.d.). As a result, hip arthritis becomes a huge detriment in patient’s social, emotional, physical lifestyles. In order to treat hip arthritis, doctors choose from a variety of non-drug treatments, medications, and surgeries. Uniquely, I was inspired to research about the treatments of hip arthritis because my very own brother was pronounced with hip arthritis a few years back. Therefore, his determination to battle this disease encouraged me to investigate about the treatment of hip arthritis.
These “baby boomers” are getting to the age where many of them require multiple visits to a primary care doctor as well as a variety of medications for all of the problems of their deteriorating bodies. This poses a great problem due to the fact that there are too many patients to be treated by the amount of primary doctors we currently have.
One thing is for certain, in most cases, the population is noticeably post-poning retirement. This population consists of a general cast known as the Baby Boomers. During this era of both political and social change, while turning out differently than most expected, it appears that boomers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to health. Throughout the years, as a generation that dominates American life, there is remains a separation. However, there is much that ties them together. A growing pressure exists, while having a massive impact on an aging health care in an already haphazard system, there is a calling toward a need for transformations in senior health care.
Curtis, J. R., & Safford, M. M. (2012). Management of Osteoarthritis among the elderly with
By this time the remaining Baby Boomers, totaling an estimated 70 million people, will be at least 65. This is anticipated to have a notable effect on the current health care system. This coupled with the increasing life expectancy and the decrease in number of young people means that the older adult population will make up a much greater percentage of the population then has ever been experienced. This means that unless something is done immediately then health care workforce will lack the ability and size to meet the needs of this growing older population in the future. Many older adults have numerous compound chronic conditions that require a wide range of skills for meeting their many physical and mental needs.
The symptoms of osteoarthritis are usually very slow to manifest worsen over time. Symptoms include joint pain, tenderness in joints, joint stiffness, loss of flexibility, a grating sound in the joints and hard lumps around the joints. Though the symptoms can be present in any joint, it’s usually more evident in the affected person’s joints in their knees, hands, hips and spinal column. People at risk are again older people especially women, obese people, those who have had joint injuries, people employed in manual labor jobs, and certain diseases such as diabetes, gout and rheumatoid arthritis where the side effect is osteoporosis. As in osteoporosis, there is no cure for osteoarthritis and the symptoms just keep worsening in patients, but it can be prevented and / or the slow the progression of the disease by staying active and by staying in good physical shape, maintaining body weight. This also help them improve pain and joint
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. The prevalent population suffering from OA is the elderly, but it may afflict a person of any age, especially upon injury of the joint. This ailment will usually affect loan bearing joints such as the knee or hips, but it can affect any joint. OA is the breakdown of the protective cartilage within the joint, and the patient will suffer from pain, swelling and/or stiffness of the joint, and a decreased range of motion at the joint. These symptoms can have a debilitating effect on a patient by making menial tasks suck as walking, climbing stairs, or even rising out of bed or a chair difficult. Currently, there are various treatment options available for OA but no cure exists; therefore,
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that stems from the breakdown of cartilage of the bones as a result of traumatic injuries, joint overuse, obesity, or genetic and metabolic diseases. Osteoarthritis mainly affects older woman in the knees, hips, hands and spine. Sufferers experience inflammation, swelling, and pain in affected joints, eventually causing joint stiffness and limitation of movement, misalignment, and knoblike bone growths in the hands (Stark). While there is no known cure for OA, there are many treatment options to help preserve physical function
As we all know, lots of our elders are very so much plagued by joint and muscle anguish at the present time. It is also a shocking indisputable fact that the quantity of more youthful men and women are additionally experiencing continual joint pains which influence their nice of existence.
In the United States, the overall population is getting older with many Americans living into their 70s, 80s, and beyond. The nation is now and will be confronted with the challenge of preparing to meet the financial demands of a continually aging population. The proportion of the population aged 65 years and older is expected to increase from 12.4% in 2000 to 19.6% in 2030; this is an increase to about 72 million. The number of persons aged 80 years and older is expected to increase from 9.3 million in 2000 to 19.5 million in 2030. Also by 2030, older adults will account for roughly 20% of the U.S. population. By 2050, it is anticipated that Americans aged 65 or older will increase to nearly 89 million people; more than double the number of older adults in the United States in 2010 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2011; Chapman et al, 2006). There are a couple of explanations for the rapid increase in the aging of the U.S. population: one is that Americans are living longer than those in previous decades and, there are proportionately more older adults than in previous generations do to the Baby Boom phenomenon. The “Baby-Boom” generation, the oldest of whom have passed 65 years old, is already beginning to retire. This issue is a cause for great alarm among public health professionals because of the increasing medical costs and financial burden it will place on current and future generations (Chapman et al, 2006). Improvements in healthcare have
Obesity, by definition, is the condition of weighing more than 20 percent above ideal body weight(book). This has become such an important issue that it is now considered an epidemic. Obesity is a highly concerning problem because it is a life threatening disease that is sweeping over the entire world. After all, more than one billion people are overweight, and 300 million of those are obese (1). Obese individuals are putting themselves at high risk for significant medical problems and public health issues. These medical issues can affect the support and protection of your organ systems as well as the structure of your body that enables movement(book). This extremely important system is known
Arthritis is a joint disorder, which affects one or several joints in the body. The condition has more than one hundred types of diseases with osteoarthritis being the most common. Osteoarthritis results from joint infection, or age. Patients that suffer from arthritis complain about pain in the joints. In most cases, the pain remains constant in the affected joint. It is worth noting, “The pain from arthritis is due to inflammation that occurs around the joint, damage to the joint from disease, daily wear and tear of joint, muscle strains caused by forceful movements against stiff painful joints and fatigue” (Reid, Shengelia & Parker, 2012, p. 40). However, joint pain could result from various diseases, and in such