While the orthopedic industry was prepared for an ongoing influx in backlogged procedures following the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report suggests that the backlog has already been exhausted, according to a March 31 report from Seeking Alpha.
According to an analysis by investment bank Needham & Co., 2023 orthopedic product sales were only just higher than they would have been had the pandemic not occurred.
Needham calculated the annual growth rate of four leading categories of orthopedic devices from 2013 to 2019 and applied the rate to the pandemic years of 2020 to 2023.
The hip market saw the highest post-pandemic growth, surpassing its 1.9% expected growth rate by 1.5%.
The spine market grew by 1.1% higher than its non-COVID estimate, while the knee market grew by 0.7%.
The trauma and extremities market saw lower than expected growth, falling 7.5% below its non-COVID estimate.
Overall, the orthopedic market is expected to grow by 4.8% in 2024, compared to 7.3% in 2023, according to the report.