Slovenská chirurgia 3 - 4/2021

Gender differences in the incidence of knee injuries

More than 15 years of work in women‘s team sports and the exponential increase in knee injuries led us to the idea of analyzing more closely the causes of more frequent knee injuries in women. Factors affecting the more frequent occurrence of knee injuries can be divided into genetic, hormonal, anatomical, neuromechanical. The best documented is the difference in the occurrence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries. The incidence, risk factors, mechanism of injury, as well as the occurrence of complications and the frequency of recurrence of injury are different. In women, there are more frequent injuries of collateral ligaments, instability of the patella and its dislocation, but also non-traumatic injuries such as pes anserine bursitis, iliotibial band syndrome, anterior knee pain, jumper‘s knee syndrome. In contrast, meniscus injuries and quadriceps tendon injuries have been reported more frequently in men. Historically, women have been involved in sports for more than a thousand years. Nevertheless, in the past, sport was an activity and a hobby enjoyed especially by men. It was not until the end of the 18th century that women began to actively participate in sports activities and formed their own sports clubs – tennis, bowling, cricket, archery. The number of women actively involved in sports had been very low until the 1960s. In the United States in 1972, a law was passed that puts women and men on an equal footing in sports. Already in that period, the first works were published documenting the different incidence of knee injuries in different sexes.

Keywords: women‘s injuries, knee injuries, anterior cruciate ligament, sports injuries