[The significance of the function of the skeletal and locomotor systems in old age (author's transl)].

Well-functioning skeletal and locomotor systems are very important for the achievement of an active old age. Modern surgical methods allow the treatment of disorders of the locomotor system in such a successful way that the frightening prospect of the patient's confinement to bed with all its considerable risks can be avoided. This holds especially for the treatment of fractured bones, degenerative arthropathies and pathological fractures.