Even with improved and improving understanding and documentation of injuries, there are numerous unmet needs that represent challenges for the future. These range from logistical challenges brought about by the complexity of our healthcare system to the actual improvement of the provision of care for members of our society. While a comprehensive discourse cannot be provided here, we propose some timely thoughts.
Falls are a major cause of unintentional musculoskeletal injuries, particularly fractures, and often the contributing cause of death within a year of the fall in older persons. Between 2000 and 2015, the age-adjusted rate of death per 100,000 persons due to falls rose from 4.8 to 9.0, nearly doubling. At the same time, the proportion of total unintentional injury deaths that were due to falls rose from 14% to 23%. (Reference Table 5C.1 PDFCSV)
The average hospital length of stay for musculoskeletal injuries in 2013 was 5.4 days, nearly a full day longer than for hospital discharges for any diagnoses (4.6 days). Persons age 45 to 64 had a slightly longer average stay (5.6 days), while those under 18 years of age had the shortest stay (4.3 days).
Fractures are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, and can have long-term impact, particularly among the elderly. In 2013, one in five (24%) musculoskeletal injuries treated in a healthcare facility was for a fracture, with 1 in 20 persons in the population receiving care for a fracture. Data are based on visits in multiple settings and do not represent unique cases. (Reference Table 5B.2.1 PDFCSV)
Musculoskeletal injuries may be specific to the category of injury (e.g., MSDs as described in Workplace Injuries above), but for the most part fall into five major groups, plus a group of less common injuries. These categories are based on ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes used primarily in national healthcare databases.
Fractures: Fractures occur when a bone is broken. Fractures fall into six types which are not exclusive of one another.
