My bones are always making crackling sounds. Do I need treatment?

Audit expert: Wang Linyu

Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Try moving your fingers, knees or neck to see if you can hear a "cracking" sound. Is this sound normal in the joints? Is it a warning sign of some kind of disease in the body? Should we treat it?

Why do bones make cracking sounds?

Generally speaking, this kind of sound mostly occurs at the connection between bones, which is what we often call "joints", such as knee joints, ankle joints, hip joints, etc. Some people even make noises when they make a fist. In other words, what we think is "bone noise" is actually the sound of joints.

Why do joints make sounds? This has to do with their structure. Joints are where bones connect, and are generally composed of articular surfaces, joint cavities, and joint capsules. Depending on whether they can move, joints can be divided into fixed joints and movable joints. The joints that we are talking about that can make sounds are generally movable joints, such as shoulder joints, knee joints, and finger joints.

Joint composition source | Xinhuanet

When the joints move, the adjacent parts will make a sound due to friction. At the same time, there is synovial fluid in the joint cavity that acts as a lubricant. When the joints move, the space in the joint cavity will be squeezed, and the gas inside will be released quickly to form bubbles. When the bubbles burst, they will also make the sound we hear. For this kind of sound, we generally call it "snap".

Sources of waist and neck pain｜freepik

There are physiological and pathological reasons for joint noise

For most people, this sound is not obvious, but for some people, the sound of joint movement is particularly obvious. So do we need to see a doctor for joint popping? In fact, joint popping can be divided into physiological and pathological types. Correctly distinguishing which type of sound you have and taking the right medicine can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Physiological snapping refers to a joint snapping phenomenon in which there is only a snapping sound, and the joint surface is not red or swollen, and there is no pain. This kind of snapping is usually not harmful to the body and does not require special treatment, so there is no need to worry too much about it. But the other kind of pathological snapping requires special attention. While making this kind of snapping sound, the joints of the human body generally feel soreness, swelling and other uncomfortable feelings. And this is exactly the alarm sent by the joints. Pathological snapping is usually accompanied by problems such as arthritis and swollen joints. For example, the shoulder joints and knee joints are very susceptible to disease.

Knee arthritis source | freepik

Pathological snapping is very common in some special groups, such as teachers, accountants, programmers, etc. They are all people who need to work at a desk for a long time or maintain a posture, and often experience shoulder and neck snapping. This snapping is mostly caused by muscle fatigue, or too little synovial fluid in the joint capsule, resulting in excessive friction in the joints. If this continues for a long time, there is also a risk of arthritis.

In addition to fatigue, muscle strain, tendon tear, ligament strain, bone hyperplasia, etc. are also possible causes of snapping. Pathological snapping is usually accompanied by other symptoms, so we need to pay more attention to it in our lives and seek medical treatment in time.

Exercise for joint health

As we age, we should pay more attention to the crackling of joints. So how can we keep our joints healthy? The key is exercise.

Exercise at least twice a week to make your knees and legs stronger. But it should be noted that you need to warm up before exercising, such as doing stretching exercises to get the joints moving. Secondly, eat a healthy diet, pay attention to proper calcium supplementation, and maintain a healthy weight. As we all know, a large body weight puts a lot of pressure on the knees, and being overweight is a key factor leading to osteoporosis.

Sports source | freepik

In addition, when working or studying, do not maintain the same posture for too long. It is best to change postures every half an hour to relax the muscles around the joints. When choosing shoes, also pay attention to the thickness of the soles. Too thin soles will increase the wear and tear of the knee joints. Try to choose shoes with a heel of 2-3 cm. Wear fewer high heels and more sports shoes to reduce the pressure and burden on the joints.

If you find that your joints have popping sounds and are accompanied by pain, redness and swelling, you should see a doctor as soon as possible, identify the problem, receive scientific treatment, and always protect the health of your joints.