Welcome to the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA)

British Orthopaedic Association: "Welcome to the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) website, which was re-launched in June 2006. The BOA was founded in 1918 and is the professional association for over 4000 surgeons and training surgeons treating injuries and disorders of bones, joints and their associated tissues."

Helge: I want to talk about Mediracer in this context.


Welcome to the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA)
The BOA is the professional association for orthopaedic and trauma surgeons in the United Kingdom and those abroad who have had orthopaedic training in the UK or who show a continuing interest in the affairs of the Association.

Helge: Continuous training, great, are BOA's looking for ways for early diagnostics of CTS?


The Objects of the BOA
These are the advancement for the public benefit of the Science, Art and Practice of Orthopaedic Surgery with the aim of bringing relief to patients of all ages suffering from the effects of injury or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Helge: The public benefit would be to detect CTS at an early stage!


BOA Membership
The BOA currently has about 4000 members in the UK and overseas, who enjoy a range of membership benefits. The majority of these are UK consultant and trainee orthopaedic surgeons. For more information on how to join the BOA, click here.

Helge: How can we get out the message?


Burden of Disease

Soft tissues, including ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and cartilage, can be injured in any violence, road accidents, work accidents, sports, repeated overuse, and normal everyday activities.

Soft tissue injuries include sprains, strains, contusions, tendonopathy, bursitis, lacerations, ruptures, crushing, and compression injuries.

In the UK, soft tissue injuries and conditions have been estimated to account, annually, for:

• 1/3 million hospitalisations, 1.5 million bed days,
• 1 million outpatient visits,
• 3 million emergency room visits, and

There are an estimated 2 million sports injuries per year in the UK; 95% involve soft tissues.

• More than 50% of knee injuries result from sports.

The leading work injuries causing lost productivity include:

• Sprains to the low back, knee, and upper arm;
• Amputation or crushed cuts of fingers.

Cumulative trauma disorders, possibly including carpal tunnel syndrome, synovitis, tendonitis tenosynovitis and bursitis, account for 64% of all occupational illnesses.

Directions for Future Research

1. To explore the link between pain and soft tissue disorders.
   
   
2. Develop improved methods of nerve repair.
   
   
3. Develop synthetic replacements for muscle, ligament, tendon, and cartilage using tissue engineering or gene therapy.
   
   
4. Understand the fitness requirements for men and women, for different age groups and for people with physical disabilities.
   
   
5. Develop training programs that improve muscle performance.
   
   
6. Study how joint injury occurs to help prevention and development of more effective protective devices for particular sports and jobs.

European Federation of National Associations of Orthopedics and Traumatology

Welcome to our global orthopaedic network. The EFORT Portal is a milestone in developing the EFORT idea as started by Prof. M. Freeman and Prof. J. Duparc.

Nowadays technology allows us to eliminate borders and distances. Every one of the 35'000 orthopaedic surgeons from all 37 European National Orthopaedic Associations will be able to communicate online.

Members of our 18 Speciality Societies can also develop their own programmes when associated with EFORT.

BACKGROUND

M.A.R. Freeman

(Bulletin of EFORT, Issue No. 1, November 1994)

The idea of creating an organisation to link all the national orthopaedic associations in Europe began life in a Committee the primary function of which was to organise a single Combined Meeting of these associations to mark the creation of the European Single Market in 1993.

The concept of such a Combined European Meeting can be traced back to a meeting of the International Hip Society in New York in April 1989 when the idea was discussed with a number of French surgeons who were also members of this society.

Later that year, at a Course held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Michael Freeman and Jacques Duparc had more discussions to develop this further. In the fist instance the forum moved to COCOMAC, an organisation which linked a number of European national associations to provide instructional opportunities where it was quickly decided to hold a Combined Meeting early in 1993 in Paris. Happily, SOFCOT agreed to underwrite the costs of the Meeting.

Accordingly, a Steering Committee composed of the Presidents of all the west European (not just European Union) national associations of orthopaedics and traumatology was set up under my chairmanship. It appointed a Programme Chairman and co-operated with SOFCOT which provided the local organisation. It soon emerged, however, that in this Committee there was support for the creation of a continuing organisation which might arrange subsequent meetings and carry out various other functions.

The Steering Committee met in Northern Italy in early 1992 and again in Munich in May 1992. At these meetings, the Statutes for a possible organisation were evolved and broad decisions were taken as to its nature and its objectives.

Consideration was given to the possibility of creating an organisation modelled on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; individual orthopaedic surgeons in Europe would have the opportunity of joining the new organisation if they wished, in addition to membership of their national associations.

It was felt however, that an entirely new organisation on those lines would not be wholly appropriate since it might conflict with the activities of the national associations and would create considerable administrative burdens on the organisers.

The alternative was preferred therefore of linking the national associations into a co-operative entity to be called a "Federation". The title of this organisation was eventually agreed as "The European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology" (EFORT).

More about it here...