Women Risk Bone Loss After Knee Surgery

Prevention of ligament injuries is key, experts say

By Karen Pallarito
HealthDay Reporter

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THURSDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- Women who play sports are prone to tearing the knee ligament that connects the thighbone to the shinbone. Beyond the immediate pain and swelling it can cause, there's now reason to suspect that this type of injury may lead to another vexing health problem.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that young women who had surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suffered significant bone loss around the knee even two years later. And that damage was seen even though they had undergone rehabilitation.

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"Despite telling them to weight-bear early and put weight on the leg, people are going to protect an operative limb," said study author Dr. Diane L. Dahm, an assistant professor of orthopedics at Mayo. "So, it's probable that the forces going across that operative limb were not as great as the opposite limb, early on especially."

The findings were first reported at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS).

Ligaments are tough fibers that hold bones together. The ACL, located toward the front of the knee, gives you stability on your feet. But if you land the wrong way or change direction quickly, that ligament can tear. You might even hear a "popping" sound when it happens.

Each year, an estimated 38,000 women sustain ACL tears. In fact, the incidence of ACL injuries is two to eight times greater among women than men, he AAOS said.

Even in the same sport, women are more likely to injure their ACL than men. Female basketball players, for example, are twice as likely as their male counterparts to tear an ACL, while the incidence of these injuries is four times greater among women soccer players than men who play this sport, the AAOS noted.

Although the reason for this gender gap isn't clear, orthopedic experts suspect hormones and differences in the way women use their muscles may play a role.

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