Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

İstanbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, İSTANBUL There are some changes occur in joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones while normal aging process. Obesity, elderly and concomittant diseases can alter this changes into disorders. Musculoskeletal system diseases are seen frequently in geriatric population and impair quality of life. In order to investigate the frequency of these diseases, medical files of 9500 patients who admitted our outpatient clinic between years 2002 and 2003 were inquired retrospectively. Types and frequencies of the diseases which seen above 60 years old and distribution of these diseases and treatments administered were investigated. One thousand four hundred fifty-one (15.9%) from all evaluated cases were above 60 years of ages. 1049 (72.2%) of 1451 patients were women and 402 (27.7%) were men. The mean age was 68.3 (6.2 SD) years. The most frequent disorders were degenerative joint diseases (72%), osteoporosis (22%) and soft tissue rheumatic disorders (16%). Lumbar region was the most common site of degenerative disorders and myofascial pain was the most frequently seen soft tissue rheumatism. In conclusion, it was suggested that degenerative diseases were seen foremost in elderly population aged above 60 years. Keywords : Geriatrics, Musculoskelatal system, Elderly.