Women suffer from a higher incidence of arthritis, more severe knee pain symptoms,and greater knee-related disability; yet research shows that women are three times less likely than men to have a knee replacement*.
The reasons that women suffer more problems with their knees are not fully understood. There are certainly differences between the shape of women’s and men’s knees, which may give a clue to this imbalance, but it has also led to surgeons' identifying the need for women’s knee replacements to be different, too. Although it is technically possible to make adjustments in the operating theatre to accommodate gender differences,
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surgeons are limited in their ability to make traditional implants conform precisely to women’s knees. Meeting the joint-replacement needs of female patients is a subtle science that has more to do with implant shape than size, and now “knees for women” has become a significant advance in this area of knee surgery. Your doctor can provide you with more details.
As to why women are more inclined than men to “soldier on” with bad knees, theories abound. However, experts expect that with the availability of knee implants shaped to fit women’s anatomy, far more women will want to consider knee replacement.
*Hawker et al. New England Journal of Medicine. April 6, 2000 pp.1016-1022 |
