What is Crepitus?
Is your knee making popping sounds? The crunching, popping, snapping, or crackling sound you occasionally hear when you move your joints, such as bending or straightening your knees is called crepitus.
Knee crepitus is primarily physiological and not pathological. There are a variety of physiological reasons it occurs including air bubbles bursting in synovial fluid (fluid that surrounds joints), rough cartilage interfering with smooth joint motion, or ligaments/tendons snapping over a bony prominence. It is also common to occur after surgeries.
Some Conditions related to crepitus:
- Osteoarthritis (OA)
- Inflamed tendon related injury
- Meniscus injury
- ligament injury, such as an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear
- Snapping knee syndrome
- Patellofemoral instability
When should you worry?
- If crepitus occurs with sudden pain, swelling, redness, or limited range of motion.
- If it increases over time, may be a sign of osteoarthritis or other degenerative changes in joints
If you are worried about noisy joints, speak to your physical therapist or primary care doctor. A physical therapist can help differentiate between physiological vs pathological noise based on patient history and with special tests. It generally does not need to be treated and will reduce with time.
Research has found when comparing OA individuals with and without knee crepitus, they found knee crepitus is NOT associated with knee strength or objective function measures differences.
Crepitus is just one of the joint-related conditions that can be addressed by physical therapy. Contact one of our PT clinics in the Capital Region in Queensbury, Malta or Saratoga. If your knee is making popping sounds, or you are experiencing any pain or discomfort, schedule a consultation or evaluation with one of our skilled Physical Therapy professionals.
References:
1. Song SJ, Park CH, Liang H, Kim SJ. Noise around the Knee. Clin Orthop Surg. 2018;10(1):1-8. doi:10.4055/cios.2018.10.1.1
2. Robertson CJ. Joint crepitus—are we failing our patients?. Physiotherapy Research International. 2010 Dec;15(4):185-8.
3. Arthritis of the Knee. OrthoInfo. Reviewed February 2021. Accessed April 3, 2022. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/arthritis-of-the-knee
4. MF, de Oliveira Silva D, Faria NC, Simic M, Ferreira PH, de Azevedo FM, Pappas E. What are the clinical implications of knee crepitus to individuals with knee osteoarthritis? An observational study with data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Brazilian journal of physical therapy. 2018 Nov 16.
