Editorial

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in orthopaedics

¹ First Department of Orthopaedics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens 11527, Greece
² Diabetes Center, Second Department of Internal Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens 11527, Greece
³ Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, 424 General Military Hospital, Thessaloniki 56429, Greece
⁴ Laboratory for Research of the Musculoskeletal System “Th. Garofalidis”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens 14561, Greece
⁵ Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Medical Research, 251 Hellenic Air Force General Hospital, Athens 11525, Greece
⁶ Second Department of Anesthesiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens 11527, Greece
⁷ Orthopaedics Surgery and Sports Medicine Department, FIFA Medical Center of Excellence, Croix-Rousse Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon North University Hospital, Lyon 69004, France
⁸ University of Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University, IFSTTAR, Lyon 69622, France

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 16 October 2025
Accepted: 4 December 2025

Abstract

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) help people control blood glucose and lose weight. They may also help with bone metabolism, healing fractures, keeping joints healthy, and recovering after surgery. There is growing amount of evidence of their ability to modulate the activity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, affect inflammatory pathways, and interact with neuroprotective and psychological systems. Although the growing importance of GLP-1 receptor agonists in orthopaedics marks a major shift in how metabolic medicines affect musculoskeletal health, current knowledge is still basic and lacks information on long-term results, safety, and how well different treatments work compared to one another. This paper summarizes the existing evidence on the effects of GLP-1RA drugs on bone metabolism and healing, and discusses their role in current orthopaedics.