Study Finds Surprising Differences in Knee Injuries Between Men and Women

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A 2025 analysis of over 13,500 knee MRI scans revealed that men have more anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears overall, including ACL plus meniscus combinations, contrary to earlier data focused on female athletes
Men under 40 were more likely to have trauma-driven medial collateral ligament (MCL) and meniscus injuries, while women over 40 had a higher rate of degenerative MCL and meniscus damage
These patterns suggest trauma dominates in male injuries, while age-linked tissue breakdown plays a bigger role in older female patients
These results can aid clinicians and radiologists in recognizing patterns of injury so they can tailor imaging protocols, risk assessments, and early intervention strategies for patients
Researchers say these gender-specific patterns may change the screening, prevention, and rehabilitation for knee injury across lifespans

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you sure you know which knee injuries you're most likely to face at your age,
0:03.9	and whether your training actually lowers or raises that risk?
0:07.7	Hello, and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:11.3	I'm Ethan Foster.
0:13.0	Today we're examining new MRI findings that map out how knee injuries differ between men and women,
0:19.0	and how you can adjust screening, prevention, and rehab decisions
0:22.6	accordingly.
0:23.6	I'm Alara Sky.
0:24.6	We'll walk you through what the researchers found across more than 13,000 knee MRIs.
0:30.6	Why those results challenge old assumptions, and which practical steps you can take to
0:35.6	protect your knees without leaning on myths?
0:38.3	A large analysis of 13,549 knee MRI, exams from 2019 to 2024, showed that men had more
0:48.3	ACL tears overall, including ACL plus meniscus combinations, with the highest prevalence between ages 20 and 40.
0:57.0	Younger men also had more trauma-driven MCL and meniscus injuries.
1:02.0	In contrast, women over 40 showed higher rates of degenerative MCL and menisical damage.
1:08.0	For clinicians and patients, that means trauma patterns dominate in men, while age-linked
1:12.9	tissue breakdown becomes more prominent for older women.
1:16.3	That directly counters the long-held view, based on sports-focused studies, that young women
1:21.3	athletes face the highest ACL risk.
1:24.8	As lead author Dr. Ali Gasemi noted, ACL injuries were more prevalent in males across
1:30.3	all age groups. Co-author, Dr. Jennifer Pittman, emphasized that expanding research beyond male-centric
1:36.3	and athlete-only cohorts reveals different risk profiles that show up in everyday clinics, not just on the field.
	...

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