A minor slip or low-impact event is often blamed for knee findings that actually develop over years.
Commonly misattributed:
– Degenerative meniscus tears
– Cartilage loss & chondromalacia
– Baker’s cysts
– Osteophytes & joint space narrowing
Why it happens: imaging lacks timing context, degenerative and acute findings get conflated, no prior imaging is assumed “normal,” and symptom onset is mistaken for causation.
The science is clear: these reflect chronic degeneration—not acute, low-energy trauma. A qualified expert evaluates mechanism, imaging, and patient history to distinguish pre-existing pathology from true injury.