Find out why against the background of physical activity, sometimes you hear the crackling of your joints and how to deal with this phenomenon. Many people are afraid of constant crunching and grinding in their joints and this makes them seek medical advice. This behavior is completely correct, because it is better to consult a specialist than to self-medicate. However, in most cases, extraneous sounds emitted by the joints, in the absence of pain, are not a pathology. However, you need to be sure of this and find out why athletes have joints cracking.
Joint crunch: pathology or not?
More often than not, joint crackling is a normal physiological process. To understand why athletes have joints cracking, it is necessary to understand the structure of the joints and find out how they work. In our body, almost all joints have the same structure. They are formed due to the two articular surfaces of at least two bones.
The bones are covered with smooth cartilaginous hyaline tissue, which plays a critical role in providing glide and reducing friction during movement. The joint itself is located in the so-called capsule or shell, which also contains synovial fluid. It is also designed to reduce the coefficient of friction and nourish the hyaline cartilage tissue.
Almost every joint has additional capsule folds, which are called a bursa or bursa. Their main task is to improve the shock-absorbing properties of the joint when performing high-amplitude movements. All components of the joint are interconnected with the help of extra-articular, as well as intra-articular ligaments.
With each movement, the elements of the joint stretch and move. It is for this reason that extraneous noise is possible, which is characteristic of any mechanical device. Most often, a grinding, crackling or clicking sound is heard in relation to the joints. However, the intensity of these sounds can be strikingly different. Some clicks our hearing organs do not catch at all, but others can be clearly audible.
Speaking about why athletes have joints cracking, it should be said that the most common sound is a crunching sound, called crepitus by doctors. To a greater extent, the ankle, knee, and also small joints of the hands are capable of emitting a crunch. It is possible that the neck also crunches.
In fact, crepitus is not a pathology and does not pose a danger to the body. Most often, extraneous sounds from the joints are heard by perfectly healthy people. There are many factors that lead to joint crunching, for example, overweight, unbalanced diet, use of certain medications, age, etc.
At the same time, the crunch of the joints can turn out to be a pathology if, simultaneously with the appearance of extraneous sounds, the following symptoms appear:
- With a crunch, painful sensations appear.
- Extraneous sounds are accompanied by signs of inflammatory processes.
- The working capacity of the joint is impaired and movement is limited.
- During the crunch, numbness is felt.
- The joints make a strong crunch, and this process is constantly progressing.
Why athletes have joints cracking: physiological reasons
If you hear crepitus during intense physical activity, then there is no cause for concern. Very often this phenomenon occurs in adolescence, which is understandable, because the body develops, and all parts of the body grow. And some of them do it much faster than others. This leads to the development of a temporary imbalance in the development of the articular-ligamentous apparatus, which increases the mobility of the joint. It is with this that the extraneous noises emitted by the joints when performing movements are associated. However, there are other physiological reasons that should be borne in mind by anyone who is interested in why athletes have joints cracking.
- Weak ligaments. In this case, it is more correct to speak not about the weakness of the ligaments, but about their high extensibility. This reason is genetic, as in some people, the body does not synthesize normal collagen. It is from this that the ligaments can be stretched more actively, and the joints become hypermobile. Simply put, such people can make movements with a greater amplitude in comparison with the rest. This phenomenon is observed most often at a young age and especially in women. Since degenerative processes throughout the body accelerate with age, the crackling in the joints disappears. This cause of crunching is natural and does not require any treatment.
- Accumulation of gas bubbles. The synovial fluid contains various nutrients as well as gases. During the movement, the joint capsule stretches and the internal pressure drops. According to the laws of physics, this leads to the fact that gases dissolved in the synovial fluid form bubbles. After they burst, the corresponding sounds are emitted.
- High content of protein compounds. Synovia contains a large amount of protein compounds and from this it becomes thicker. As a result, the process of normal sliding of bones during the movement cannot be complete, which becomes the cause of the crunch of the joint. An increase in protein compounds in the synovial fluid can be caused by a high-protein nutrition program or the presence of inflammatory processes, both in the whole body and in a specific joint.
- Physical overload. When the joint works with high activity, the synovial fluid is consumed very quickly, and it takes time to produce a new one. If you do work for a long time, then extraneous sounds appear, which disappear after rest, since the level of synovial fluid has recovered. Since today we are primarily talking about why athletes have joints cracking, you must remember one thing. If you do not adhere to the correct training regimen and do not give the body enough time to recover, then this reason can lead to pathology. If there is little synovial fluid in the joint, then the cartilage tissues wear out quickly. This can cause the development of osteochondrosis.
Pathological causes of the appearance of crunch in the joints
Speaking about why athletes have joints cracking, it is necessary to remember about the possibility of pathological changes in the articular-ligamentous apparatus. As we have already said, most often extraneous sounds in the joints cannot cause harm, but this is not always the case.
- Degenerative changes. This is the main reason for the appearance of sounds in the joints when performing movements. Everyone has heard of diseases such as osteochondrosis or osteoarthritis. These pathologies can destroy cartilage tissue, cause a deficiency of synovial fluid or exposure of bone surfaces. All this leads not only to the appearance of an extraneous sound, but also causes pain. Dystrophic-degenerative changes are mainly manifested in people over the age of 50. However, they are possible at an earlier age, including adolescents. There is only one reason for this - the wrong way of life. Various injuries, overweight, heavy physical activity, frequent wearing of high-heeled shoes, etc.
- Arthritis - inflammatory process in the joint. It can cause pathological changes accompanied by a crunch. Arthritis is quite difficult to treat, and this is due to the large number of variants of this disease. In addition to extraneous sounds, arthritis is accompanied by joint stiffness, swelling, redness, impaired performance and pain. As soon as you notice at least one of the above symptoms, see your doctor immediately. Very often, arthritis becomes the cause of disability if the treatment of the pathology was not started on time.
- Salt deposits. Another reason for the appearance of crunch in the joints can be a disease of the endocrine system or metabolism. Most often this is due to the deposition of salts in the joint capsule and on the ligaments.
How to eliminate a crunch in a joint?
So, we found out why athletes have joints cracking, and now we need to find out how this phenomenon can be dealt with. As we have already said, if there are no other symptoms of possible pathology in addition to crunching in the joint, then you will not need treatment. If it's all about the causes of pathological changes, it is necessary to prescribe the correct therapy. As a result, not only will the crunch disappear, but also the symptoms of this or that disease will be eliminated.
When pathological changes were not diagnosed during the examination, but the joints emit extraneous sounds, adhere to the following recommendations:
- Do not put too much stress on your joints, and swimming is an ideal sport.
- If you have extra pounds, then you need to get rid of them as soon as possible.
- Do not use strong mono dietary nutrition programs, but make your diet as varied and balanced as possible.
- Try not to wear high-heeled shoes often.
- Maintain correct posture and use curvature prevention products.
- During training, safety precautions must be followed.
- Use special additives for joints - chondroprotectors.
In conclusion, we note that most often extraneous sounds in the joints are not a pathology, if they are not accompanied by symptoms of other diseases.
Denis Borisov tells in more detail about why joints crack and how to remove crunching:
