Does your knee click? Are the clicks accompanied by pain and burning? Is it getting harder to walk, run, or play sports? Are you getting tired faster? Perhaps we are talking about damage to the menisci and ligaments. This pathology is common not only among athletes; no one is immune from it.
Medical specialists in Zelenograd will advise you on clicking in the knee. In case of damage to the menisci and ligaments, comprehensive care will be provided, without complex surgical operations.
When the meniscus or ligaments are damaged, the knee meniscal capsules and internal cruciate ligaments become deformed. Menisci are elements of cartilage tissue that are located between the articular surfaces. The cruciate ligaments provide a secure connection to the joint. When a person is injured, as a rule, both the meniscus and ligaments are damaged at the same time. When the ligaments are torn, the curvature of the legs and protruding joints are visually noticeable. If the meniscus is torn, the leg cannot be straightened. If the knee internally rotates, the inner meniscus is damaged. If the rotation occurs outward, the external meniscus is damaged accordingly.
What is a crunch in the knees?
First you need to understand what the knee joint is.
It is the site of articulation of the femur and tibia. At the junction, the bones are covered with cartilage tissue, between which there is an elastic meniscus, and the spaces between the hard surfaces are filled with synovial fluid, which reduces the pressure and friction of hard surfaces against each other.
This connection system with bone fixation using ligaments, muscles and tendons provides the best mobility.
However, with increased loads on the joint and cartilage tissue, and with various chronic, infectious and other diseases, the cartilage tissue can wear out, and the surface can be slightly deformed. The relief formed during deformation becomes the cause of the formation of noise and clicks during movements.
However, in some cases, crunching in the knees during flexion and extension may occur due to the formation of air bubbles in the synovial fluid and for a number of other reasons caused by active physical activity.
If the sounds are periodic and are not accompanied by painful sensations, then you should not worry about it in advance.
During extension
An alarming symptom is a crunching sound that occurs when the leg is extended, especially periodically repeated when walking without additional physical activity.
If the crunch is accompanied by aching, pulling or acute physical pain, then this is an additional symptom of damage or wear of cartilage tissue.
Over time, the disease can progress if appropriate measures are not taken and the situation will only get worse in the future.
As a rule, damage to cartilage tissue is caused by inflammatory processes and various arthrosis of the knee joint. Infectious arthrosis can be treated quite easily and quickly; age-related ones can be treated with diets, reasonable physical activity and medications. The main thing is to seek help in time.
When squatting
The appearance of clicks when squatting can have either a bad meaning or mean nothing at all. It all depends on the frequency of recurrence of the symptom and the accompanying sensations.
If clicks are rarely heard, then most likely everything is normal or you just need to adjust your physical activity. If the clicks are constant and the sounds are accompanied by pain, then this is a symptom of wear of the cartilage tissue.
Do an experiment: do several sets of 5-10 squats, if the sounds are repeated and cause discomfort during each set, then this is a problem.
If they occur only for the first time at the beginning of physical activity, then for now you can not worry about health problems and monitor your own physical form.
For what reasons does the knee joint wear out?
Wear and tear of the knee joint is the wear and tear of cartilage tissue due to degenerative changes. This process is called osteoarthritis, and, unfortunately, preventing this insidious disease is not so easy.
The knee joint wears out:
- against the background of genetic predisposition and poor heredity;
- due to excess weight, which creates additional stress on the cartilage;
- after numerous injuries and microtraumas;
- after fractures, damage to the meniscus, excessive mechanical stress (post-traumatic arthrosis develops);
- due to congenital pathologies of the knee joint;
- for unexplained reasons.
For one reason or another, changes occur in the cartilage cells that also affect the subchondral bone. Cartilage loses elasticity, becomes thinner, and becomes vulnerable to mechanical stress.
The cartilage in the knee joints wears out as the body ages naturally.
Crunching in the knees when straightening without pain
Why does the knee crunch when extending, and is this necessarily a symptom of the disease? In practice, this is far from true, and even a healthy joint can make sounds. The main difference is the presence or absence of painful sensations accompanying the sound.
If the crunch occurs without pain, then its cause is:
Crossing of ligaments and subsequent putting into place - elastic ligaments can regularly shift to a safe distance and, when restoring their position, produce a characteristic sound that is mistakenly attributed to the joint;
Ligament overlap is the same problem as with tendons. It is not a pathology and does not require treatment;
The penetration of the synovial membrane between the cup and the thigh is also not a pathology; it occurs due to slight twisting of the leg during awkward movements.
Carefully analyze your own feelings if your knees begin to creak, this will allow you to promptly identify an unpleasant and serious disease and begin treatment or relief of symptoms.
What to do if the joint is already worn out
Unfortunately, a knee joint that is too worn out cannot be restored and requires surgical endoprosthetics with a difficult recovery period. It lasts more than one month and does not always end as we would like - the limitation of mobility remains with the patient forever. That is why this approach is not acceptable for young and middle-aged people who want to lead an active lifestyle.
If your knee joint no longer functions as well as before, you have noticed characteristic signs of wear, but are not ready to take drastic measures, you can always find a compromise solution. The main thing is not to waste time and get diagnosed as early as possible, and then begin treatment.
In the early and moderate stages of osteoarthritis, intra-articular injections of the synovial fluid substitute Noltrex help well. The liquid endoprosthesis is evenly distributed over the surfaces of the cartilage, separates them and stops friction. It will not be possible to completely restore a worn-out joint using this method, but for some time it is quite possible to return to a normal lifestyle, without pain and with adequate physical activity.
Why do teenagers' knees crack?
A crunch in the knee during extension in a teenager can occur for various reasons. The most common of them:
Congenital defects - abnormalities in the structure of the joint or bone tissue;
Increased elasticity of connective tissues - this symptom often occurs in adolescence during the formation of body tissues. Due to the increased elasticity of the ligaments, a slight displacement of the joint may occur, accompanied by a crunch when returning to its place;
Injuries – after sprains or ruptures of ligaments and tendons, severe dislocations, this pathology may be observed for some time, which resolves over time;
Excessive loads - spend up to 4-5 hours at school in one sitting position, most of the load falls on the knees, as a result this can lead to mild inflammatory processes, fatigue of muscles, ligaments, tendons.
Most of the reasons are relatively safe, and with the right exercise regimen and care, the crunch may go away. In adolescence, this symptom rarely indicates any serious pathologies.
But if it occurs regularly, it is still recommended to be examined by a doctor. In adolescence, when bone and other tissues continue to develop, timely detection of pathologies and anomalies will help avoid more serious problems in the future.
Joint diagnostics
In order to identify the factors that provoked the development of the disease and detect hidden pathology, diagnostics are performed. To do this, resort to the following methods:
- Ultrasound examination of joints;
- X-ray;
- CT or MRI;
- Puncture;
- Lab tests.
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What can a crunch cause?
If your knee crunches when straightening, you need to undergo an examination to find out the exact reasons for what is happening. Depending on whether the patient has any disease or pathology, there may be different consequences.
In particular, this symptom may indicate the following diseases:
Anomaly in the development of ligament and tendon tissue - in the future it can lead to rupture of the connective tissues of the joint, which will require surgical intervention;
Consequences of injury - if clicking continues for a long time after a sports or other injury, there may have been errors in the provision of medical services, in particular, the ligaments fused incorrectly or the joint was incorrectly adjusted;
Consequences of inflammatory diseases - inflammatory diseases lead to the destruction of cartilage tissue, which provokes the appearance of extraneous sounds during joint activity. If timely measures are not taken, inflammation can lead to decreased limb mobility, increased pain, and the development of chronic diseases.
You can only assess the scale of the consequences if you know exactly the causes of the disease or deviation.
Why do joints creak?
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects mainly peripheral joints and leads to irreversible structural changes, as well as the frequent involvement of internal organs and other functional systems of the body.
To date, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis has not been clarified. In its development, the role of both genetic and environmental factors is equal, among which the participation of infection, immunization, nutrition, blood transfusion, smoking, UV irradiation, etc. is assumed.
Women get sick 3–4 times more often than men. During pregnancy, remission often develops. In women, the peak incidence occurs at 35–55 years, in men – at 40–60 years. This disease affects 0.6% to 1.3% of the population.
Articular syndrome is the leading one in the clinical picture of RA. The onset of the disease is most often subacute (55–70%), usually provoked by an acute infection or an exacerbation of a chronic infection, cooling, trauma, or a stressful situation.
The development of arthritis is preceded several weeks or months by a prodromal period, the signs of which are fatigue, weight loss, periodic pain in the joints (often in response to changes in atmospheric pressure), decreased appetite, increased sweating, low-grade fever, slight anemia, and an increase in ESR.
In the initial period of rheumatoid arthritis, 1/3 of patients experience arthralgia that worsens with movement, and 2/3 have symmetrical arthritis of the small joints of the hands and feet. Pain and stiffness in the morning, gradually decreasing in the evening. The intensity and duration of these manifestations are interconnected with the progression of the disease, persisting with pronounced activity until lunch, and in some patients it disappears only in the evening.
In 15–20% of cases, rheumatoid arthritis begins unnoticed with slow progression of arthritis without fever or limitation of movements.
The skin over the affected joints of the hands may be slightly hyperemic, and the temperature over the large ones may be elevated. Due to inflammation of the joint tissues and reflex muscle spasm, movement in the affected joints is sharply limited, which leads to the development of muscle atrophy.
There are seven signs, and if four of them are present, a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is made.
- Morning stiffness. Its presence in the joints within an hour after waking up.
- Arthritis of 3 or more joints. Swelling or effusion in the joint for at least 6 weeks. These are the proximal interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal joints, wrist, elbow, knee, ankle, metacarpophalangeal joints.
- Arthritis of the joints of the hand. Swelling of the wrist, proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints for at least 4 weeks.
- Symmetrical arthritis. Bilateral involvement of the hand joints (without absolute symmetry) for 6 weeks.
- Rheumatoid nodes. Typically located in areas subject to pressure and irritation (for example, on the extensor surface of the forearm).
- Determination of rheumatoid factor (RF).
- X-ray changes. Typical for rheumatoid arthritis in the hands and wrist.
If these signs are present, it is necessary to consult a doctor to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as to decide on further treatment tactics and the need for consultation with other specialists.
The main complications of rheumatoid arthritis are:
- Irreversible joint deformation;
- Kidney failure;
- Impaired functioning of the heart muscle;
- Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly).
Prevention of rheumatoid arthritis includes:
- Timely consultation with a doctor for various diseases, especially infectious etiology;
- Strengthening the body by hardening it;
- Sanitation of foci of chronic infection;
- Leading an active lifestyle, moving more, playing sports, swimming;
- Watch your diet - consume more plant-based foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals;
- Avoid hypothermia;
- Observe the rules of personal hygiene;
- Learn to take a break from work, get enough sleep, minimize emotional stress;
- Give up bad habits - smoking and excessive alcohol consumption;
- Make sure that your blood circulation is always free - wear comfortable clothes, shoes, squat less, and while working in a sitting position, take a break every 40-45 minutes.
Rheumatoid arthritis cannot be completely cured. Modern treatment methods are aimed at reducing inflammation, improving joint function and preventing disability. Early initiation of treatment improves prognosis.
Surgeon at the Korelichi Central District Hospital
Ekaterina Khlebnova
Which doctor should I contact if I have a crunch in my knees?
You have discovered a crunch in your knee during extension, the causes of which are unclear, which doctor should you contact in this case?
If the reasons are unclear, you should contact a therapist who will conduct an initial examination and give an appointment to visit a specific specialist.
If extraneous sounds appear after a joint injury, then you need to contact a traumatologist or orthopedist. If there is tissue damage, then you need to visit a surgeon. An appointment with a surgeon can be made by a traumatologist if invasive intervention is required.
If the pain is chronic and has arisen for unknown reasons, then you need to contact a rheumatologist. Rheumatic pain, as a rule, indicates inflammatory processes that appear against the background of other inflammatory and infectious diseases.
Choosing the right specialist will allow you to quickly diagnose the cause of the disease and select the correct and effective treatment.