Squat Winnowing: Cause of Meniscus Injuries in Non-Athletic Females

BACKGROUND: Sports activities were thought to be the major cause of meniscus injury in both men and woman, but our observations of non-athletic females show that the cause of meniscus injury was unrelated to any type of sports activity. OBJECTIVES: This study revealed squat winnowing to be a major cause of meniscus injury in non-athletic females. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary care orthopaedic hospital which caters to a population of 10 million people. We assessed 120 non-athletic females who had received treatment in our hospital over a period of 2 years. The most probable cause of knee injury, per initial patient history, was recorded for all non-athletic females who presented clinical signs and symptoms of meniscus injury. The diagnoses were confirmed by relevant MRI and arthroscopy of patients’ knees. All females who engaged in athletic activity and other females with unrelated, non-traumatic knee pathologies were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Through our study, we found that 42% (n = 50) of females suffered an injury during squat winnowing of rice, either at home or at work. Another 29% (n = 35) of females cited a history of slipping and spraining their knee as a cause of knee injury, while 19% (n = 16) of females suffered a knee injury during complex accidents such as a traffic accident. Finally, 13% (n = 16) of the females had no definite history of knee injury. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations add to the knowledge base of the various causes of meniscus tears; this study also revealed that socio-cultural factors influence and contribute to the mechanism of various types of knee injury.