Men are more prone to knee injuries than women, despite previous research that suggests the opposite, (Photo: Creative Commons)

Men are more prone to knee injuries than women, despite previous research that suggests the opposite, according to a new study, published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine on Sunday. Researchers found that men are more likely to tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and require surgery to repair it.

"I think the difference is that earlier studies studied at-risk populations," Richard Nordenvall, study author and researcher at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, told Reuters."In those studies, women are more prone to get injured. The difference with this study is that we studied the general population."

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The researchers looked at a Sweden-wide database of people who had knee injuries and how many had surgery to repair the injury between 2002 and 2009. They found that during that time span, more than 56,000 people sustained a knee injury, which equates to 78 injuries per 100,000 people.

Men accounted for 60 percent of all injuries and also had 59 percent of all reconstructive surgery. However, while men typically sustained the injury between the ages of 21 and 30, women suffered the injuries much younger, typically between 11 and 20.

While researchers said they could not say what accounted for the injuries, Darin Padua, director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who was not involved in the study, said he was not surprised by the findings.

Nordenvall said the study shows that both men and women need to take preventative measures to ensure they don't suffer an ACL tear.

"It's a common injury and it's more common than what has been thought of earlier," he said.