Bones clicking and popping.

[Lovechooks]

I am a Remedial Massage Therapist and bones clicking and cracking is simply air between the joints and nothing at all to worry about.

 

[OkieAnnie]

I had same issue in my knees. I was diagnosed with arthritis at 25. Told I needed knee replacement at 27. At 35 I read a book about gluten intolerance and celiacs disease. Decided to go gluten free. 2 months into it I had no joint popping, creeking or pain!!! Could not believe it. I never would have thought it was related to what I was eating. So glad I rejected the surgery.

I am sure that there could be a variety of causes. It might be something you are eating/drinking or not eating/drinking or it could be something else. You may have to try several things to figure it out and it will probably, like me, take a few years of trying different diets, rememdies one at a time for a few months to see if you notice a change. You might want to keep a journal with symptoms, things you try and results so you don't end up going in circles.

Hope that helps, some atleast.

 

[freemotion]

Errr.....depending on the noise. There are about a dozen reasons for crepitus, or joint noise.....knuckle cracking is a typical one, that is the synovial fluid in the joint being forced to expand quickly and it becomes a gas briefly, before settling back into fluid. This is why knuckle-crackers have to wait for the joints to "settle" before another round of cracking. (And thank goodness, why do some people think it is ok to crack their knuckles in a meeting????)

Basically, if the noise is not accompanied by pain, there is little need for worry. Generally. Mostly.

It can also be a tendon slipping across the boney bump that normally holds it in place when the joint is flexed, then it slips back when the joint is extended or returned to it's neutral position. No pain? No worry.

Muscle tension can increase some noises, and a good, deep massage can help a lot. Some noises can develop when joints start to lose stability with overstretched ligaments, as in repeated or severe sprains. These aren't so harmless.

Thanks for reviving this thread, I was so busy when it was originally posted, and I'd wanted to reply and forgot.

The fact that you have pain is an indication that you should take some action and get evaluated. At 40-something, some pain is normal in active people, but also an indicator that it is time to take charge and start doing some maintenence so that it doesn't get worse. It could be something very simple that can be resolved quickly. In my experience (quite a bit), left alone, it might go into hibernation, but it will rear it's ugly head again and again, and only get worse if you ignore it.

I have a lot of success in staying relatively pain-free (notice the word relatively ) by using a GOOD chiropractor and getting massage regularly. That means every week when there is an issue and minimum of once a month to prevent issues. That is for my body and the abuse I gave it over the years! Everyone is different.

By GOOD chiropractor, I mean someone who adjusts EVERY joint in the body and who also addresses the muscles in each session, too. I don't like to be attached to a machine for that part. Look for neuromuscular therapy or Applied Kinesiology, both great techniques that a lazy doc will not be using, only a dedicated one. There are other great techniques out there, these are only two. The key is an appt that is more than 5 minutes, and someone who works with more than just the spine.

For massage therapy, look for a LICENSED therapist, with a few years experience if possible, and not with a relaxation focus. Look for pain management, problem solving work. The therapist needs to find all your areas of pain, not just the ones you are currently aware of......very often, the "problem" area is silent to the client and the good therapist will know where to explore for the culprit.

I teach it this way to my massage therapy students.....imagine two athletes, one on each side of a door (two muscles on each side of a joint....say, your shoulder), both are pulling on the door, struggling against each other.

One is a jockey, and one is a football player.

The jockey will be the one that is hurting, the football player won't be complaining, he is winning. But if you just work on the whining jockey and never notice the football player and never get him to STOP pulling against the jockey, the pain will return the moment the client gets off the table, or soon after.

This struggle can also put a tremendous strain on the hinges of the door, and the doorknob, etc, and injure them, too (your joints and tendons and ligaments.) So the sooner you can stop the pulling contest, the sooner healing can take place.

Sometimes muscle tension is the entire issue, sometimes it is part of the issue, and sometimes it is as a result of whatever the issue is.

Hope this long lecture helps....

 

[Lovechooks]

Are you a Massage Therapist too Freemotion?

 

[freemotion]

Yup, and I teach at a massage school, and continuing education for LMT's. So I tend to slip right into teacher mode, especially after 10 PM......

eta: there are several of us who are active on this forum.....can't remember who, right now, as I was finding this out when I first joined the forum. I know Beekissed is, but is using her nursing degree more right now.

 

[big brown horse]

This is very helpful information freemotion...now I can visualize it. (I'm a visual learner. )

I am going to ask a dumb question, but what is a chook? I'm assuming it is some sort of chicken, right?

And welcome Lovechooks!!

 

[Lovechooks]

YES! A chook is a chicken. We mostly call them chooks over here. Australians are notorius for using slang words, it's a bit of a habit I'm afraid.

 

[Woodland Woman]

Well, I am having some improvement not quite as much popping. I tried the certo for a few days and it may have helped a bit but I had to stop taking it because it was too sweet. Now I am taking gelatin sometimes.

OkieAnnie I have been on a gluten free diet for 2 years. I used to have muscle aches in my legs that no doctor could figure out why. I prayed and felt that God told me Celiac. I didn't know what that was but looked it up. I went gluten free and in 24 hours I felt 100% better. To this day if I were to have something with gluten I get the same muscle aches.

Freemotion Thanks. I still have trouble with the idea of going to a chiropractor so I have been stretching and most of my pain is gone.

I am starting to suspect it might be caused by eating certain vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower. Has anyone ever heard of that?

 

[freemotion]

Rarely, but on occasion over the years, I have had a client who has a reaction to a food and it shows up in their muscles as tension. I wouldn't have caught it except the examples I can think of were regular clients, the type that come in every week or every other week. A reaction that causes hives, especially, causes tension and pain the some muscles, especially (but not limited to) the area that the hives showed up in.

This painful area would remain for days or even weeks after the offending food (or sometimes prescription drug) was discontinued.

Are you a vegetarian? If not, bone broths, made the traditional way with a long, 12-24 hour simmering with a glug of ACV will be very high in gelatin, great for the joints and many other tissues of the body. Very healing to the digestive tract, too.

If you use beef bones, you need to use both marrow bones and meaty bones. Shanks are great for gelatin, and cheap, too.

Chicken bones and skin and everything else left after stripping the meat makes very gelatinous broth, yummy, too. A cup or two with dinner, in a mug, or as a soup, or incorporated into sauces and gravies, can make a real difference within a month or so.

 

[tortoise]

I'm surprised joint hypermobility didnt come up in this conversation (yet). About 10% of the population has benign or non-generalized joint hypermobility. Lax ligaments allow more motion in the joint which permits excess popping and clicking.

In females, ligament laxity is more pronounced in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. (And during pregnancy, and thereafter a second pregnancy).

Vitamin C may help over long term. Glucosamine sulfate may help in those who also have allergic symptoms. Glucosamine sulfate inhibits mast cells in connective tissue. Theres a hypothesis (research pending) that mast cell activity causes the degradation of collagen in hypermobility disorders.

Prolotherapy and physical therapies are the best current treatments for hypermobility. A physical therapist can teach you how to move without stretching the joint capsule.

Clicks can be tendon snaps. If so, a physical therapist can help you with that too.

Massage therapy is not recommended in general for hypermobility, except if needed to correct a subluxation or relieve pressure on nerves.

Sorry to write a book! I hope it helps the next person who searches fir or stumbles upon this thread!