Women More Prone to Knee Injuries

Women are prone to more frequent knee injuries, especially if they're not careful about training.

Joseph J. Ciotola, M.D., a top-rated orthopedic surgeon at Orthopedics and Joint Replacement at Mercy, said that knee injuries in women are typically caused by poor form, overuse, weakness or a body imbalance.

According to Dr. Ciotola, there are three common problems, including: 

• Women can have wider hips and that can affect their cue angle; that’s where your quad or thigh muscles hit your kneecap and then to your shin bone.
• Patellafemoral Syndrome: They call it (inferior) patellar tendinitis, which is a little more common in men, but women can get that as well.
• And the IT Band Friction Syndrome, that’s on the side of the knee. 

"Those are all kind of overuse injuries, and they come from imbalances,” Dr. Ciotola explained.

Dr. Ciotola added that physical therapy is the first line of treatment for getting the pain under control, noting these injuries rarely end up in surgery.

View Mercy orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Ciotola’s interview about women and knee issues.