Cracking joints – causes, treatment and prevention

Cracking of the joints

Many people are affected by occasional or frequent cracking of the joints . It is important to distinguish between painless and painful joint cracking. In case of pain, a doctor should be consulted. If the joint cracking does not cause any symptoms, consequential damage to health is unlikely. The cause of the cracking of the joints has not been scientifically proven. Shortened muscle fibers or blocked vertebrae are very likely the reason for the cracking joints.

What is cracking of the joints?

Various movements in the human body can lead to cracking of the joints. In principle, such joint cracking can occur in all joints of the skeleton. Comparatively often, however, knee and finger joints are affected by cracking noises. The frequent cracking of the joints in the fingers and knees is mainly due to their high degree of movement.

Joint cracking is more common in women than in men. Cracking noises in the joints during physical movement can be both involuntary (not intentionally controlled) and of a voluntary nature: many people, especially on the fingers, deliberately cause the joints to crack, for example by stretching a finger strongly.

causes

Depending on the accompanying symptoms, various causes can be hidden behind a cracking of the joints. If cracking noises in the joints are not accompanied by pain, in most cases they do not indicate a serious underlying disease or injury.

Physicians suspect wear and tear and/or minor damage to the joint’s own cartilage as a frequent cause of pain-free cracking of the joints . The cracking sound is probably due to the bursting of carbon dioxide bubbles that have previously formed in the synovial fluid. According to another explanatory model, it is possible that the cracking noise is due to normal movement-related displacement of joint components.

According to medical opinion, cracking of the joints is not related to an individually particularly pronounced ability to stretch. According to experts, the fact that women are more often affected by pain-free cracking of the joints than men is due to the comparatively weak connective tissue of the female body: the connective tissue of men can support joints more than female tissue. If a cracking of the joints is accompanied by pain, this can, for example, hide arthrosis (pathological cartilage wear) or injuries to the mucous membranes and/or tendons.

When to the doctor?

In most cases, painless cracking of the joints is of little concern. A doctor does not have to be contacted for this. Nevertheless, you should generally avoid deliberately causing the cracking. It can lead to abrasion of the joint bones, which often causes serious problems in the long term. In many cases, the joint gradually loses its ability to function.

If you feel pain in your joints, you need to see a doctor. A chronic condition may be present that needs to be evaluated and treated. If the cracking of the joints leads to a permanent or temporary change in the skeletal system, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. A misalignment of a bone must be examined immediately. If the mobility of the joint is restricted, a doctor must carry out further medical tests.

If other symptoms such as skin changes due to redness or skin growths occur in the region surrounding the joint , a doctor should be consulted. Swelling of the joints must also be clarified by a doctor. If the affected person reacts particularly sensitively to the effects of cold or heat, a doctor’s visit is advisable. Numbness or other sensory disturbances should also be examined. If there are problems with the load-bearing capacity of the joint, the causes for this must be determined. There is a risk that permanent damage may result.

diagnosis and course

An existing cracking of the joints must first be diagnosed on the basis of the characteristic sound development during various movements. If, for example, a cracking joint in the affected person is accompanied by pain and/or the noise only occurs after a joint injury has been suffered, further diagnostic measures can be useful – for example, an affected joint can be felt by a specialist and examined more closely using imaging methods. Injuries or illnesses that could be the cause of a cracking joint can be ruled out or confirmed in this way.

The course of a cracking of the joints depends above all on the cause of the symptoms: If the cracking is caused by an illness or injury, a successful treatment of the basic problem can usually also have a positive influence on the course of the symptoms. Although physicians generally assume that pain-free joint cracking is not a risk factor for the development of diseases such as osteoarthritis or arthritis , they usually advise against consciously induced joint cracking too often. This advice is motivated by the fact that, for example, frequent cracking of the finger joints can lead to overstretching of the ligaments and a decrease in grip strength.

complications

Cracking joints is usually harmless and harmless to health. Nevertheless, various complications can arise, especially with long-term and frequent noises. If the noise persists for a long period of time, ligaments and joints can become overstretched and even damaged. If the joints crack constantly, muscles and ligaments can wear out and hurt. If the cracking of the joints is not treated, the cartilage can be damaged over time. The patient often feels pain when moving . Symptoms of paralysis in the affected joints cannot be ruled out either.

Cracking joints should be treated by an expert and not on your own. Unsuitable therapeutic measures and home remedies can increase joint noise. The joints are constantly under considerable strain. If the patient tries to reduce the noise with compresses or hot bandages, the joints and muscles can become weak. If the cervical vertebra cracks, surrounding arteries can be constricted or injured. Frequent cracking of the joints can cause cramps, inflammation or other symptoms.

treatment and therapy

A painless cracking of the joints without pathological significance usually does not require any medical treatment. However, if the noise development is due to diseases or injuries to the affected joints, medical treatment usually focuses on the corresponding basic problem.

Dorothy Farrar

Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.

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