If your joints are clicking and popping, you are not alone. Knees that snap while standing, ankles that pop while rotating them and a neck that cracks when we turn our head, we have all experienced it. Usually, joint cracking can be loud and maybe a little disconcerting. It is not surprising that many people think there might be something wrong with their bone joints when they listen to pinging joints.

Your clicking and popping joints might be annoying for you, but it usually is nothing to concern about. Though it is common, if the frequent cracking is coupled with constant pain or swelling, that can be a signal that something is wrong. That is the time you need to visit your orthopedics expert.

“As long as your clicking and popping joints are not painful, joint noise is ok,” says Dr. Santosh Shetty leading orthopedic surgeon in Mumbai. “If there is pain or discomfort you may have an injury that requires treatment.”

Why do joints make noise?

With increasing age, many people observe that their joints seem to make more noise. It has a reason for that. During the aging process, some of your cartilage wears away and its surfaces get a little rougher creating noise when they rub against each other. The frequency of joint sound depends on how you position your body while sitting or slipping, and how you use the body when you move.

The noisy bone joints may relate to ligaments that connect bones to other bones, tendons that connect muscles to bone, or cartilage which is the smooth covering over the ends of bones. Joint noise is most commonly noticed in knees but other joints including the hip, shoulder, neck, and spine can also develop sounds

Here are some possible causes for the noise:

• Tightening of the ligament with movement
• A tendon or ligament may snap over a bony bump creating sound.
• Air bubbles inside the joint can pop.
• Muscle stiffness in the neck can cause it to grind with movement.

As explained earlier if your joints click and crack, you’re not alone. In fact, many people experience this phenomenon, particularly in their fingers and knees. Grinding, creaking, clicking, popping and other noises are so common that our patients ask our experts about them just about every day. “Why my joints make noise? It is a common question and the bottom line is, joints make noise,” says Dr. Santosh Shetty. However, if the cracking and popping in your joints are accompanied by swelling and pain, you should be evaluated by an orthopedic physician. Get in touch with our experts at Bone & Joints 360 to discuss your concerns about your bone and joints health.