Tendinopathy: sex bias starts from the preclinical development of tendon treatments. A systematic review

Abstract

Highlights Tendinopathy has sex-specific features, with sex hormones affecting tendon metabolism, structure, biomechanical properties, and injury risk. The preclinical research on tendinopathy treatments still neglects sex-based differences, leading to translation of male data to females which may affect clinical effectiveness in women. None of the reviewed studies looked at differences between sexes, and only 4% of the studies reported disaggregated data. Besides, female animals are under-represented. The lack of sex-representation in tendinopathy research remains critical.