Every adult has encountered this phenomenon, when a leg clicks, at least once in their life. This may be a temporary phenomenon, or it may be a permanent symptom, which indicates serious pathological changes occurring in the joint area. Why your legs click when walking and how you can get rid of this annoying symptom will be discussed in this article.
The most common diseases and pathologies of the musculoskeletal system are described here, in which an unpleasant clicking sound may occur during lifting, flexion and extension of the lower limb.
It is important to understand that extraneous sounds when moving limbs are always a pathology. In a normal physiological state, the musculoskeletal system works smoothly and without any noise. If clicking occurs, the first thing you should do is urgently consult a doctor. Conduct an examination, promptly identify developing diseases and begin effective treatment.
It is impossible to cope with such a symptom at home, without medical help. There are no miracle cures. Any ointments and pharmacological preparations will give you only a temporary effect. Clicking sounds can be completely eliminated only after examination, diagnosis and elimination of the cause of the detected disease.
Why do my legs click when I walk?
The question of why the legs click begins to torment a person, usually at the moment this symptom, unpleasant from an aesthetic point of view, occurs. After all, extraneous sounds can be heard by everyone around them, and if a person is in a public place, then he not only fears for his health, but also feels embarrassed.
Most often, the leg clicks when walking, and the symptom appears strictly when the limb is flexed or extended at the hip, knee or ankle joint. Therefore, clicks are heard rhythmically in time with walking. No amount of twitching, turning or other tricks help. The sound is maintained or enhanced. An attempt to slightly change the range of motion gives only temporary results. As soon as the amplitude of mobility is automatically restored, extraneous sounds will immediately return.
What is it and why can such an irritating symptom occur? There are a number of objective reasons for it:
- damage to the tendon or ligamentous apparatus (often, in the absence of timely and complete rehabilitation after an injury, scarring occurs with the formation of rough connective tissue - it is this that, when rubbing against the bone surface, makes a characteristic clicking sound);
- deformation of muscle fiber with the formation of fibrous scars (most often a consequence of traumatic rupture);
- destruction and deformation of bone tissue (with complete destruction of the cartilage tissue in the joint cavity, the bones of the heads begin to knock when moving against each other and make a characteristic unpleasant sound);
- stretching of the joint capsule, due to which instability of the position of the heads of the bones and their pathological movement in the horizontal plane occurs;
- a decrease in the level of synovial fluid and its density under the influence of traumatic and biochemical factors (cavities filled with air are formed in the joint capsule, they cause crepitus (creaking) and clicking when walking);
- foreign bodies in the joint (usually lipid (fatty) plaques, bone fragments after fractures and cracks, blood clots, osteophytes, etc.) - they cause not only clicking sounds, but also severe pain with every movement.
These are not all the potential reasons why your leg clicks when walking. Depending on the location of the unpleasant symptom, there may be specific factors associated with the anatomical structure of a particular bone joint. So, when a similar sound appears in the knee area, it is worth taking into account the complex structure of this joint. Instability of the position of the patella and the development of lipid damage to the lateral joint capsules (bursae) are the most common reasons why the leg clicks in the knee.
But clicks in the ankle joint almost always indicate a scar change in the tendon and ligament tissue. And in most cases, this is a consequence of repeated injury in the form of a sprained ankle.
The exact cause of clicking can only be determined by visiting a doctor. It is necessary to conduct an X-ray examination, MRI, ultrasound. Only with the help of the results obtained will the doctor be able to make an accurate diagnosis. It is almost impossible to independently identify the cause. You can take advantage of a special offer from our manual therapy clinic - sign up for a free initial consultation with an orthopedist. The doctor will conduct an examination, make a preliminary diagnosis and tell you what examinations you will need to do to clarify it.
Crunching in joints
Arthritis
Gout
Syphilis
14861 May 27
IMPORTANT!
The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Crunching in the joints: causes, diseases in which it develops, methods of diagnosis and treatment.
Definition
Crunching in the joints is a specific sound that accompanies active or passive movements in the joints. Crunching can be observed in any large or small joint and does not always indicate a disease, so it must be considered in conjunction with other symptoms.
There are three functional groups of joints in the human body:
- motionless - synarthrosis, ensuring a completely motionless articulation of bones (this is how the bones of the skull and pelvis are connected);
- semi-mobile - amphiarthrosis, characterized by limited movement (connecting the vertebrae and pubic bones);
- mobile - diarthrosis (the most numerous joints).
Joints consist of articular surfaces covered with cartilage tissue, an articular cavity, a capsule, a synovial membrane and synovial fluid.
The fluid fills the entire space inside the joint, serves to nourish and restore cartilage, and is also necessary to ensure that the articular surfaces slide relative to each other and do not injure the cartilage.
Inside the shell of some joints there are dense bands of connective tissue - ligaments; they additionally strengthen the joint and passively provide functional movements.
Types of crunching in joints
Crunching in joints can be divided into physiological, which does not imply joint disease, and pathological, which occurs in an unhealthy joint. A pathological crunch is accompanied by pain, swelling, redness of the skin over the joint, stiffness of movement, etc.
Possible causes of crunching in joints
The causes of crunching in the joints include:
- the presence of carbon dioxide bubbles in the joint cavity during sudden movement;
- inflammation, stretching or weakness of the ligamentous apparatus of the joint, due to which the ligaments no longer firmly fix the surfaces of the joint;
- degenerative-dystrophic changes in the joint;
- inflammatory diseases of the joints;
- diseases occurring with metabolic disorders;
- joint injuries.
Diseases that lead to crunching in joints
In diseases of the ligamentous apparatus, crunching occurs due to friction of inflamed joint structures or excessive contact of articular surfaces with insufficient function of the ligamentous apparatus.
Bursitis
– inflammation of the joint capsule with accumulation of a large amount of fluid in the joint cavity. The fluid can be serous (watery), purulent, containing a lot of fibrin protein. The course of bursitis can be acute or chronic. There are specific bursitis (with syphilis, tuberculosis, gonorrhea) and nonspecific, the causative agent of which is staphylococcus, E. coli and other microorganisms.
Bursitis manifests itself as swelling and redness around the affected joint, pain, moderate limitation of movement and general malaise.
Tendinitis
is an inflammation of the tendon that occurs with frequent injuries to the tendon (for example, during monotonous work) or is of an infectious nature. The course of the disease is acute or chronic. In chronic cases, calcium salts may be deposited in the tendon.
It manifests itself as pain and redness along the affected tendon, and the function of the corresponding muscle may suffer.
Joint hypermobility
is a hereditary disease of connective tissue, manifested by excessive extensibility of ligaments and tendons, joints acquire excessive flexibility, and range of motion increases.
Joint hypermobility is not a harmless condition, as it can lead to the destruction of articular cartilage, chronic dislocations and subluxations, and inflammation in the joint.
Arthrosis
is a chronic progressive disease, which is based on the destruction of the cartilage of the articular surfaces, gradually spreading to all structures of the joint. In the later stages of the disease, the cartilage becomes corroded and rough, and the exposed bone areas become deformed, which leads to a narrowing of the joint cavity.
Risk factors are old age, excess weight and other excessive load on any joint, hormonal disorders, deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
Most often, a crunch is the very first symptom of incipient arthrosis of the joint, followed by pain during movement, starting pain at the very beginning of movement, pain at the end of the day, with excessive load on the joint.
In the later stages, persistent joint curvatures form, which significantly worsens the quality of life.
Arthritis
is a group of diseases united by one characteristic: inflammation of the synovial membrane, which can be caused by infectious, autoimmune, metabolic and other processes. In the chronic course of the disease, the tissues of the synovial membrane grow, leading to deformation of the cartilage, and then other structures. With severe damage, a crunching sound may appear in the joint.
Symptoms of arthritis may include pain and stiffness that appears when the joint is at rest for a long time (for example, after sleep), these phenomena decrease during the day, and the person “paces.”
Microcrystalline arthropathy
(gout and pseudogout)
occurs with metabolic disorders This is a separate type of arthritis, which is characterized by the deposition of salt crystals in the joints: in gout - uric acid salts (urates), in pseudogout - calcium salts.
These diseases are characterized by swelling and pain in the joints with severe limitation of mobility, and a rise in body temperature.
Which doctors should you contact if you have cracking joints
? First of all, you need to contact a general practitioner. If necessary, the therapist will give a referral to a rheumatologist. If a crunch in a joint is associated with an injury, you should consult a traumatologist.
Diagnostics and examinations for cracking joints
At the very beginning of the examination, the doctor conducts a survey and examination of the patient, identifies the degree of joint pain and assesses the range of movements, clarifies the diet, physical activity, and determines the ratio of height and weight.
In some cases, the following laboratory and instrumental examinations may be required:
- general blood test to detect inflammatory changes;
What clicks when you lift your leg?
In many patients, the knee clicks when raising the leg, but it is possible that the sound occurs in the hip joint. And here, at the initial stage of differential diagnosis, it is important to understand what causes the unpleasant sound.
If your knee clicks, you should rule out diseases such as:
- deforming osteoarthritis (gonarthrosis) of the knee joint;
- scarring of the anterior cruciate ligament;
- lipid damage to the lateral joint capsules (bursae);
- instability of the patella.
Most of these pathologies are quite easily diagnosed during the initial examination by an experienced orthopedist. There are special diagnostic and functional tests that allow you to quickly and painlessly determine the condition of tendon, ligament, muscle, bone and cartilage tissue in a particular joint.
If a clicking sound appears in the hip joint when lifting your leg, you should pay attention not only to this articulation of bones. Such a symptom may indicate the development of ankylosing sacroiliitis. This disease is characterized by the growth of scar fibrous tissue in the cavity of the sacroiliac joint. This articulation of bones is responsible for the flexibility and mobility of the lower back, allowing you to freely raise and lower your legs. The first clinical sign may be a dull pain in the sacrum and clicking sounds when raising the leg. Please draw your doctor's attention to this when prescribing examinations for you.
What to do if there is a crunch in your fingers?
In case of systematically appearing crunching in the legs, you should consult a doctor. There is no need to independently determine the causes and choose treatment, as there is a possibility that the situation will worsen. If your big toes crack, there is deformation or curvature of them, or there is severe pain, you should immediately consult a doctor for a diagnosis. these may be symptoms of serious illnesses, including gout.
An initial consultation can be done with a therapist, who, based on the examination, will refer you to specialized specialists. This could be a rheumatologist, surgeon, traumatologist. To determine the exact causes of such conditions, diagnostics will be required, including hardware studies (ultrasound, X-ray, MRI or CT), as well as biochemical and general blood tests. Other types of examinations may be prescribed at the discretion of the doctor.
If you seek help from a specialist in a timely manner and begin appropriate treatment, the chances of recovery are quite high. Complex therapeutic measures will be aimed at eliminating the main provoking factor, maintaining and restoring joints, cartilage and other tissues.
It is impossible to do this on your own or using traditional medicine, and more often such actions lead to irreversible consequences, leading to disturbances in motor activity, and the development of pathologies to advanced stages.
Why do the joints in my legs click when I walk?
Now let's move on to the most interesting part - why do the joints on the legs click if all the surrounding soft tissues (tendons, ligaments, muscles) are in perfect order? And here there are only two main reasons for the appearance of pathological sound:
- the first reason why the joints on the legs click when walking is a change in the composition, quantity and viscosity of the synovial fluid in the joint capsule;
- the second is the destruction of the cartilaginous synovial layer and exposure of bone tissue.
Both options are associated with serious pathologies occurring in the human body. The intervention of an experienced orthopedist is required to identify the disease and begin its effective treatment.
If the joints on your legs click, you must first eliminate those movements that provoke the appearance of such a sound. There is a popular opinion that if you do the same movement many, many times, during which a click occurs, then the joint will sooner or later develop. It is not true. In reality, nothing like this is observed. If you repeatedly injure the already affected tissues of the joint, you will thereby provoke their even greater destruction.
The only correct solution in a situation where the joints of the legs click when walking is to visit a doctor, and before seeing the doctor, use a fixing orthosis, which will reduce the mechanical load on the damaged tissues.
Possible diseases
If a sound like a cracking sound is heard when bending your fingers or other stress, this may indicate the development of disorders of the joints or surrounding tissues. Pathology can be considered if such phenomena occur frequently, and in the case of isolated episodes, it is likely that the toe crunches when bent due to a sudden load, prolonged wearing of uncomfortable shoes or the accumulation of gas microbubbles in the synovial fluid.
Periodic crunching of the toes is already a sign of the development of diseases that can progress in all joints of the body. Among the most common pathologies, the signs of which are crunching in the limbs, we can highlight:
- Arthritis of various groups, including rheumatoid, resulting from gout. It is characterized by damage to cartilage tissue, which turns into deformation. Accompanied by pain, swelling, and stiffness of movement.
- Arthrosis. The joints and surrounding tissues are deformed and change in structure, which leads to thinning of the cartilage and the appearance of specific sounds during movements, especially when bending.
- Bursitis. It develops against the background of inflammation of the synovial bursae or cavities located near the joints. An increase in size, an inflammatory process, accompanied by a change in the composition of the exudate, affects the mobility of the joints and the condition of the cartilage tissue.
- Tendinitis. A disease of the tendons, in which their gradual deformation and inflammation occur. This can cause difficulty bending the fingers and pain.
- Salt deposits. Accumulation of phosphates and other salts can also affect mobility, so there is no need to rule out this problem either.
- Joint mobility associated with physical characteristics. With such indicators, the amplitude of movement increases, which leads to additional friction of the surfaces.
- Injuries. Mechanical injuries often cause the toes to crack when flexed. These may be current or untreated injuries in the form of dislocations, bruises, sprains.
To eliminate crunching toes, local treatment and the use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic ointments are not enough; full-fledged therapy is needed, aimed at eliminating the main provoking factor.
In addition to developing pathological phenomena, there are certain actions that can cause a certain sound in the joints. They are not associated with diseases, but may increase your risk of developing them, and include:
- Increased physical activity, especially on the feet and ankles.
- Uncomfortable shoes that don't fit properly.
- A sedentary lifestyle contributes to atrophy of muscles and joints.
These reasons are secondary, but still have a certain impact on the condition of the fingers and the possibility of their normal movement.