This study out of the Mayo Clinic showed that both men and women on testosterone hormone therapy may be at increased risk of tearing their ACL. The men in their group had about a 3x risk of tearing their ACL, and the women were about 2x compared to an age-matched control group.
For the past 30 to 40 years, we have struggled to find out why some patients are so much more likely than others to tear their ACLs. Certainly, the cause is multifactorial. Genetics, strength, limb alignment, hormones, etc., have all been implicated.
This does not mean that patients should not take testosterone; it simply alerts physicians and patients that there may be a higher risk of injury and hopefully helps us sort out ways to mitigate that risk in the future.
Read the complete article in Healio: Patients on testosterone replacement therapy may have increased risk for ACL injury .
Photo by Mykenzie Johnson on Unsplash (slightly edited).
