[The tasks and objectives of geriatric orthopedics]

The ageing of population all over the world including Czechoslovakia where the share of people above 60 years of age is 14-15 per cent of the whole population (by the year 2010 this share should reach 20 per cent and a very frequent incidence of diseases and traumatism of osteoarticular apparatus in elderly people necessitates specialized care of geriatric patients. Geriatric orthopaedics is a combination of the principles of internal medicine and orthopaedics applied on old people. Geriatric orthopaedics deals with 3 major problem areas of diseases in old age: 1. osteoporosis, 2. osteo-arthrosis, 3. traumatism. The author concentrates on the problems of diagnostics, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis as well as on its social and economic aspects. He also deals with the incidence, conservative and surgical treatment of osteo-arthrosis in old age and with the possibilities of its prevention. Presented are the principles of an up-to-date treatment of geriatric traumatism and the rehabilitation based on the author's experience and recent data from the literature.