Study finds early knee damage common in pain-free adults

A new study from the University of Oulu suggests that knee joints can deteriorate long before symptoms like pain appear. Researchers Joona Tapio and Antti Kemppainen, writing in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, found that many adults in their early 30s already show signs of cartilage damage or bone growths despite having no discomfort.

The study analyzed MRI scans of 288 individuals, with an average age of 33.7, from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Nearly two-thirds of the participants showed structural changes in their knees, including cartilage wear and bone spurs, which likely developed over years without symptoms.

Participants were selected from Finland’s northernmost provinces and underwent comprehensive clinical and lab evaluations alongside MRI imaging. The findings suggest that early joint damage can remain undetected for years, raising questions about how osteoarthritis develops and the need for earlier detection strategies even in young, symptom-free adults.