“I am seeing increased usage of GLP drugs,” John Prunskis, MD, CEO and medical director of Elgin-based Illinois Pain & Spine Institute, told Becker’s. “Initially, the effect of these drugs will have little impact on spine and orthopedics; however, in a few years’ time, it will have a bearish effect as thinner people will have fewer spine and orthopedic problems. After a few more years, business will pick up again since people will be living longer.”
Thomas DeBerardino, MD, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at UT Health San Antonio, told Becker’s that GLP-1 drugs could disrupt orthopedics for the better.
“GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic and Wegovy will be a positive disruptive force in the orthopedic industry by providing a new way to better control Type 2 diabetes,” he said. “GLP-1 receptor agonists such as these have also been shown to reduce fracture risk in this subset of patients. Reducing hip fractures (by almost 40% in one study) in patients with Type 2 diabetes would be an incredible secondary benefit.”
In addition, many orthopedic surgeons will not operate on patients who have a body mass index higher than 40. Obesity medicine could alter orthopedics in 2025 as GLP-1s can help patients lose weight, making them candidates for procedures they previously could not receive, according to Moody’s Investor Services analysts.
In addition to reshaping surgical interventions, Ozempic may also be able to treat chronic orthopedic pain.
A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that out of 407 people with obesity and knee osteoarthritis taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, patients taking the medication lost an average of 13.7% of their starting body weight and had a 41.7-point reduction in pain compared to those who took a placebo and saw their pain reduced by 27.5 points.
“Over the next five years, we can expect weight loss medications to reshape orthopedic care, especially when it comes to joint health and replacement surgery. While having a BMI over 40 will cause most orthopedic surgeons to be reluctant to pursue surgery because of complications risk, reducing excess weight can lengthen the life of their joints, resulting in fewer people potentially needing surgery while also delaying the onset of osteoarthritis,” Michael Duch, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton and RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group in Trenton, N.J., told Becker’s. “Overall, patients with lower body weight tend to have better surgical outcomes, faster recovery times, and reduced risks of postoperative infections or implant failures.”
