My joints POP loudly
August 30, 2011 12:50 PM   Subscribe

Pop qoes my joints - why?

I can "snap" "crackle" and mostly, "pop" nearly every joint in my body, but especially the ankles, knees, fingers and wrists. The ankles are especially loud when they pop and it seems to happen mostly at night. My wife thinks I do it for no good reason, but, as I've explained (to no avail when it wakes her up) to her, the joint feels like it is almost locked and I can't move my foot/hand/finger etc. without a large "POP". Some joints I can do over & over again in a row..I'm really not doing this on purpose...really!

What's going on here? And as far as exercise etc... I sit at a desk most of the time, but it occurs whether I've been doing that or on my feet all day, or walking/running/cycling.
posted by dukes909 to Health & Fitness (3 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Joint cracking is actually a movement of the synovial fluid within your joints/releasing of air bubbles.
posted by floweredfish at 12:54 PM on August 30, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Here's the wikipedia article on joint cracking, which lists possible causes, as well as the article on synovial fluid, which may also answer some questions.

I wouldn't worry about it. I've had loud-popping joints since I was a tiny kid: ankles, knuckles, and back, especially. Some people are just more poppy than others.
posted by phunniemee at 12:56 PM on August 30, 2011


My entire body creaks like this, I've asked my doctor, and she just kind of shrugs and asks if I'm in pain. No pain, so what are you going to do?

A previous doc gave me some of those arthritis anti-inflammatories that were really popular up until they were all taken off the market, but I don't recall them ever doing much.
posted by backseatpilot at 3:22 PM on August 30, 2011


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