75-year old man runs marathon with 'bone-on-bone' arthritis


Just this weekend I attended the Running Conference at the University of Florida Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute in Gainesville.

There, one of the presenters claimed to have helped his patient, a 75 year-old runner, continue marathon training and racing despite Grade IV 'bone-on-bone' knee arthritis with bi-annual injections of hyaluronic acid (chicken cartilage) into the knee joint space.

Irrespective of testosterone-laden "atta-boys!" or of wry head-shaking at old ages' folly I still want to know this:

How was it paid for?

75 year-olds generally have Medicare.

Medicare usually pays for one course (3 or 5 injections) of viscosupplementation every six months in Florida.

Hyaluronic Acid (aka viscosupplementation) pays fairly well for the course of treatment: ~$250 for specialist surgeons and ~$150 for non-specialist physicians.

I, as a physical therapist, have to show that my 75 year-old patients need physical therapy to prevent progressive disablement, loss of independence or institutionalization.

For example, I can't say that one of my patient's goals is to...
  1. Run a Marathon!
Marathon running is not "functional".

That is, racing marathons wont necessarily keep grandpa out of the old folks home.

Why (apparently) does Medicare pay orthopedic and sports medicine doctors to keep 75 year-olds running marathons when Medicare wont pay physical therapists to keep 75 year-olds running marathons.

Is there some evidence that chicken cartilage is more cost effective than physical therapy?
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75-year old man runs marathon with 'bone-on-bone' arthritis
75-year old man runs marathon with 'bone-on-bone' arthritis
Reviewed by Merlyn Rosell
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Rating : 4.5