Purpose: Therapies for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have shown significant improvement since the introduction of biological agents (BIO) in 2003 and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) in 2013 in Japan. The rate of orthopedic surgery, including total hip arthroplasties (THA), may reflect trends in disease severity, management, and health outcomes. Materials and Methods: An analysis of data on THAs performed at our institutes for treatment of RA with BIO or non-BIO therapy from 2004 to 2021 was conducted. Results: A total of 40,328 orthopedic surgeries, including 5,938 primary THAs and 204 RA-THAs, were performed between 2004 and 2021. An increase in the annual rate of THA performed for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery was observed. The rates of THA decreased annually for patients with RA when compared to the total number of orthopedic surgeries and primary THAs performed. Conclusion The number of THAs performed for patients with RA may show an annual decrease resulting from early and aggressive drug therapy for management of RA in the era of BIO and JAKi. However, patients with RA undergoing THA have several unmet needs, including secondary osteoarthritis, dislocation, periprosthetic joint infection, and periprosthetic fracture with osteoporosis.

Purpose: Therapies for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have shown significant improvement since the introduction of biological agents (BIO) in 2003 and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) in 2013 in Japan. The rate of orthopedic surgery, including total hip arthroplasties (THA), may reflect trends in disease severity, management, and health outcomes. Materials and Methods: An analysis of data on THAs performed at our institutes for treatment of RA with BIO or non-BIO therapy from 2004 to 2021 was conducted. Results: A total of 40,328 orthopedic surgeries, including 5,938 primary THAs and 204 RA-THAs, were performed between 2004 and 2021. An increase in the annual rate of THA performed for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery was observed. The rates of THA decreased annually for patients with RA when compared to the total number of orthopedic surgeries and primary THAs performed. Conclusion The number of THAs performed for patients with RA may show an annual decrease resulting from early and aggressive drug therapy for management of RA in the era of BIO and JAKi. However, patients with RA undergoing THA have several unmet needs, including secondary osteoarthritis, dislocation, periprosthetic joint infection, and periprosthetic fracture with osteoporosis.

Purpose: Therapies for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have shown significant improvement since the introduction of biological agents (BIO) in 2003 and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) in 2013 in Japan. The rate of orthopedic surgery, including total hip arthroplasties (THA), may reflect trends in disease severity, management, and health outcomes. Materials and Methods: An analysis of data on THAs performed at our institutes for treatment of RA with BIO or non-BIO therapy from 2004 to 2021 was conducted. Results: A total of 40,328 orthopedic surgeries, including 5,938 primary THAs and 204 RA-THAs, were performed between 2004 and 2021. An increase in the annual rate of THA performed for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery was observed. The rates of THA decreased annually for patients with RA when compared to the total number of orthopedic surgeries and primary THAs performed. Conclusion The number of THAs performed for patients with RA may show an annual decrease resulting from early and aggressive drug therapy for management of RA in the era of BIO and JAKi. However, patients with RA undergoing THA have several unmet needs, including secondary osteoarthritis, dislocation, periprosthetic joint infection, and periprosthetic fracture with osteoporosis.

Background: This study examined the bidirectional and temporal-ordinal relationship between loneliness and back pain. Methods: Data from 7,730 participants in waves 6 (2012–2013), 7 (2014–2015), and 8 (2016–2017) of the national English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were analyzed. Back pain was graded on a scale of 0–10 (0, no discomfort; 10, unbearable pain). Loneliness was measured using the Revised University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. A targeted minimum loss-based estimator was used to examine the bidirectional longitudinal associations between back pain and loneliness. Results: No loneliness in waves 6 and 7 (relative risk [RR]=0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61–0.94), no loneliness in wave 6 but loneliness in wave 7 (RR=0.58; 95% CI, 0.50–0.68), and loneliness in wave 6 but not in wave 7 (RR=0.69; 95% CI, 0.57–0.86) were associated with significant risk reductions of back pain in wave 8 compared with the scenario of loneliness in waves 6 and 7. Mild back pain in wave 6 but moderate back pain (RR=0.55; 95% CI, 0.35–0.86) or severe back pain in wave 7 (RR=0.49; 95% CI, 0.34–0.72) showed a significant risk reduction of loneliness in wave 8 compared with severe back pain in waves 6 and 7. Conclusion Loneliness may be a risk factor for back pain, and back pain may be a risk factor for loneliness. The results of this study will inform the development of more effective interventions for loneliness and back pain.

Objective：The movement of an elderly person involving stepping over a bathtub makes them prone to falls and requires caution. Gait analysis suggested that the risk of falling increases with time spent in supporting both legs. A similar relationship was expected for side-straddling motion. This study aims to analyze differences in the side-straddling movements between THA patients who did not fully recover their functional balance, mobility, or walking ability from the viewpoint of the ratio of time spent supporting both legs.Methods：Eleven patients with hip osteoarthritis underwent initial unilateral THA via a posterior approach. Using a portable three-dimensional motion analyzer, we calculated the percentages of time spent supporting both legs while entering the bathtub, and exiting the bathtub with a handrail and examined the factors associated with percent of the time spent supporting both legs.Results：The percentage of time spent supporting both legs when exiting the bathtub was significantly lesser when exiting using the nonoperative than the operated side. A negative correlation was found between the percentages of time spent supporting both legs. while exiting the bathtub, and the percentage of handrail load values.Conclusion：The risk of falling may be reduced by using the nonoperative leg as the leading leg when exiting a bathtub. Use of handrails contributes to a reduction in fall risk.

Introduction : We examined the characteristics of paralytic scoliosis using plain radiography.Subjects and methods : We recruited fourteen patients aged ≥ 15 years old with no history of bone surgery at the time of their final observation. Participants included those who had cerebral palsy or those who had a history of encephalitis and underwent spinal frontal plain radiography in the supine position at different time points. We evaluated gross motor function, position and direction of the curve, Cobb angle, rate of variability, and degree of progression at 5-year intervals. We measured the percentage of migration using hip frontal plain radiography to assess hip dislocation.Results : The final Cobb angles were 82.0°, 118.4°, and 92.3°for the thoracic, thoracolumbar (TL), and lumbar curvatures, respectively. TL curvatures showed the greatest progression, although this was not statistically significant. The progression was greatest in the 10-15-year age group (12.5°annually). The final Cobb angles in the hip dislocation, subluxation, and no dislocation groups were 102.8°, 108.8°, and 87.5°, respectively；the difference was not statistically significant. No relationship was observed between the location or progression of curvature and the state of the hip location.Discussion : Paralytic scoliosis progressed most rapidly in 10-15-year-old patients, especially in those with TL lesions. We did not detect any relationships between hip dislocation and Cobb angle, but these parameters progressed at different rates in different patients.

A Major earthquake and giant tsunami occurred on 3.11, which broadly affected the eastern Japan area along the Pacific Ocean. A large elderly population was confined to their place of refuge and faced a high risk of disuse syndrome due to immobility. Elderly survivors aged 65 and over who were markedly found in an inactive state due to immobilization were regarded as the “risk group” for inactive lifestyles, possibly leading to disuse syndromes. Intervention by means of rehabilitation assistance was required in approximately one third of these inactive survivors (“high risk group”), a rate which was significantly higher in the elderly over 65 years than in younger survivors. Establishment of a rehabilitation assistance system for use in the event of a mass disaster is one of the critical lessons learned following 3.11, which will contribute to serve as a prophylaxis against disuse syndromes arising from inactivate locomotive function. Legal reform of relief actions in mass disasters is highly required to also include physical therapists as official members.