What makes cracking noise in knuckles

Tags: Expert Advice. Bone and Joint Health. Popular Categories. Popular Topics. Women's Health. Expert Advice. Patient Stories. Make an Appointment. Schedule a Callback. Many people notice that their joints seem to make more noise as they get older. And joint sounds can come and go, depending on how you position your body when you sit and sleep, and how you use your body when you move, Dr. Cracking, popping joints are so common that Dr. Stearns says his patients ask him about them just about every day.

There are a few reasons why your joints snap and crack. This sound usually indicates that a muscle is tight, and is rubbing and causing friction around the bone, Dr. The sound also could be coming from tendons rubbing over the bone. When you crack your knuckles, the sound is coming from the compression of nitrogen bubbles that naturally occur in the spaces of the joints, Dr.

The cracking is the sound of gas being released from the joint, an action called cavitation, Dr. They came to this conclusion after looking at what happens when joints crack on MRI scans. They then cracked the joint while taking images at 3. The results showed the rapid creation of a cavity in the joint at the point of separation, and the cavity remained visible after the noise had stopped. Tendons keep muscles attached to bones, while ligaments connect bones to other bones.

Ligaments can make popping noises when they tighten while the joint is moving. Tendons can make a popping noise when they move out of place and snap back into position as the joint moves. People often hear these noises in their knee and ankle joints when they stand up from sitting or while walking up or down the stairs. A popping sound in a joint such as the elbow may result from instability or looseness, the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons points out.

A person might also find that the joint catches as they move. If the sound of a joint cracking occurs with any pain, this may indicate damage to the joint and possibly a tear in the cartilage that cushions it. Anyone experiencing this should consider contacting a healthcare professional. While a person might be concerned that this causes arthritis, several studies have concluded that any association is unlikely. One physician researched his own knuckle cracking, in response to complaints from his family.

He cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day for 50 years, but not those of his right hand. The doctor did not develop arthritis in either hand, and he reported that there were no differences between the two hands.

He concluded that knuckle cracking was not linked to arthritis. Among this group, The researchers concluded that the risk of developing arthritis is roughly the same, whether or not a person cracks their knuckles.

Joint manipulation stimulates a set of nerve endings, called the Golgi tendon organs, which are involved in the sense of motion. These sit where the tendons join the muscles, and they respond to changes in muscle load. When a person cracks their joints and these nerve endings are stimulated, the person experiences a sense of release of pressure in the joints. This can also cause the muscles around the joint to feel more relaxed and the joint to feel more mobile.