Is it a disease that joints always make crackling sounds? What is the disease of joint cracking?

Sometimes you can feel a clicking sound when you move your arms or legs, and sometimes you can feel bones rubbing against each other. This happens in the joints, and there will be a sound when you lack exercise. This is normal. In addition, pathological reasons cannot be ruled out.

Is it a disease if the joints always make crackling sounds?

This is medically known as "joint popping".

When a normal person's joints are in a static state for a long time and are suddenly stretched or flexed, they will make a crisp sound. Generally speaking, there are two types of joint popping: physiological and pathological. Physiological popping will not cause any harm to the body and does not require special treatment; pathological popping is generally accompanied by discomfort such as soreness and swelling, which may be a problem with the joint, mainly meniscus injury, patellofemoral arthritis, etc.

Whether joint popping is a health hazard is also closely related to age. Generally speaking, young people mainly experience physiological joint popping (except for trauma), while older people should consider whether there are lesions when joint popping occurs, such as ligament strain, bone spurs, etc.

What is joint crackling?

Joint pain

If the knee joint pops with pain, it is likely osteoarthritis, which often occurs in the elderly. At this time, you should go to the hospital for an X-ray or MRI examination. Patients with the above symptoms should try to avoid kneeling, squatting, climbing stairs and other exercises, and do not choose exercises that have a large impact on the joints, such as mountain climbing, skipping rope, and weight-bearing walking.

Joint noose

If the knee joint pops and is accompanied by a noose (that is, it is stuck), it may be a meniscus injury, synovial plica syndrome, synovial chondromatosis, etc. Among them, meniscus injury is the most common sports injury, but some milder symptoms are often ignored. If you continue to exercise without paying attention, it will damage the articular cartilage surface and produce irreversible serious consequences. Therefore, if there are signs of joint injury, you must seek medical attention in time.

Joint adhesion

If there is a popping sound in the joint and the movement is limited, it may be a joint adhesion. When the swelling does not subside for a long time after a joint fall, dislocation, or fracture, or when the limbs are immobilized for a long time, joint adhesion is likely to occur. It usually manifests as joint flexion and extension disorders, which often occur in the elbow, knee, shoulder, wrist, finger joints, hip and condylar joints. If joint adhesion is found, you should seek medical attention immediately to prevent joint adhesion from lasting too long, causing muscle atrophy and further leading to loss of joint movement function.

Who is prone to joint popping?

Office workers who sit for long periods of time are prone to joint popping due to lack of exercise, irregular diet, and irregular daily posture. Frequent popping may indicate chronic joint injuries, such as insufficient joint fluid and ligament relaxation. Excessive joint movement and excessive ligament stretching can easily cause muffled sounds during recovery, which is more common in thin people.

When muscle strength is unbalanced, the tension on both sides of the associated joints will also be inconsistent, causing the joints to move out of their original trajectory, and one or more sounds may occur. People in this situation should pay attention to exercise and develop a good habit of warming up before exercise, because warming up can give the joints enough time to secrete synovial fluid, thereby effectively preventing joint and muscle injuries.