Please Note: On December 31, 2023, the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) received control of key assets of the United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI), including this important Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States (BMUS) resource.

The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States: Prevalence, Societal and Economic Costs (BMUS), 4th edition, is produced by the United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI) in collaboration with a number of organizations, mostly professional societies.

The USBJI is the U.S. national action network of the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health (G-MUSC), an international collaborative movement sanctioned by the United Nations/World Health Organization. Its mission is to raise the priority afforded to bone and joint disorders by world health organizations and national governments in line with the level of prevalence and impact on lives and economies. The goal of the USBJI is to advocate for and promote multidisciplinary, coordinated, and patient-centered care to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. BMUS underpins the activities of the G-MUSC and USBJI, its member organizations, and healthcare professionals, researchers, patients and many others addressing musculoskeletal health issues.

The first publication detailing prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions was published in 1984 by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and was followed with updates in 1992 and 1999. At the outset of the Bone and Joint Decade and formation of its national action network in the US, the Academy proposed the next edition become a joint project involving interested member organizations, and the 1st edition of BMUS was published in 2008. This was updated in 2011, and again in 2016.

BMUS was originally conceived as a publication designed to meet the needs of researchers, who lacked an accessible, reliable source of data on the health prevalence and economic burden of musculoskeletal diseases. With the advent of the Decade, BMUS became a useful advocacy tool helping to make a stronger case for investing in research and education on these costly, disabling, and common diseases, as well as addressing legislative, business, professional and patient issues as they arise and making the case for necessary changes in health care. It is a key resource in the development of briefing papers, presentations, and communications of almost any kind on bone and joint disorders.

The 4th edition seeks to preserve its value for researchers and its reputation for accurate, objective data, while also presenting the burden of musculoskeletal conditions in lay language for policy makers and the general public.

Many of the key contributors to previous versions of BMUS remain the same, and much of the data presented is consistent with previous versions. However, changes in chapters and content are incorporated to meet these broader audience needs, as well as contribute additional knowledge to the burden of musculoskeletal conditions.