Thread: Is knee crepitus bad?

After reading Andalee's post about going to the floor with hip circles I tried it in my living room. I have strong legs and can do it without pain, but holy crap, is all that crackling coming from me?!

I'm only 33. I have occasional twinges in my right knee so I try not to do high-impact stuff that bothers it but I had no pain at all in my knees when I do level changes to the floor. I have heard this is bad for the knees, though.

I take glucosamine sporadically (when I remember), I will try to take it more often to see if it cuts down on the creps!

To an experts out there in Bhuz land, if you have crepitus without pain, is that bad? Should you avoid a move based on that?

Hi,

I don't want to make you scared, but I just been home for work for 2 months, and didn't dance for 5 months. It started with cracking...but it went worse and worse..... I'll tell you the story, just for noticing you really have to be carefull with knees and legs.

Like 5 years ago I had already an operation at my knee, a small one, and the doctor said everything is ok, allthough it didn't felt..... . I went several times back, but he kept saying there was no problem.
Finally, my house doctor told me it's not normally I have so many infections at my knee, every year I had one, so she send me to another specialist. And he found my leg was very bad....... :-( I had to stop dancing and I have to have operation. And yes, it's true, the more I danced the more I hearded this cracking sounds in my knee.... So know 5 months later, I start dancing again, I still cant' do all the steps, shimmy's, shoo shoo's, ...that I want to do, even hip drop is sometimes difficult. The specialist who is helping me with the revalidation is giving me extra exercises, so I can dance normal again in the future.... . For the rest of my life I have to take these glucosamine tablets, I can't jump or anything and I have to be carefull.

I just tell you know my story, so you know that you have to be carefull, especially with legs and knees. It all started with cracking :-( and I am younger as you (only 30)

take care

sil

I get frequent cracking in my ankles and knees, but I also have had several knee injuries in the past (Once where I partially dislocated my knee-cap, then popped it back into place by standing).
I don't take anything for it, but I do physiotherapy every once in a while to help keep my pain to a minimum because I have Bursitis, and I turn 32 on Monday.

Strangely enough, I find the dancing actually HELPS with my knee pain. If I don't do a set of classes for at least a month, I get that familiar stabbing burning ache in my knees just under the knee-cap.

The key thing to remember is to go slow and mind what movements you're doing. If your knee feels odd or you get a sharp, stabbing pain, ease off the movement. Better to do it slowly and small at first to give your body the time to stretch itself out without causing you difficulty. I also find that using either a knee tensor (for stability and support) or shoe inserts for arch support is sometimes helpful.

But again, this is only my experience.

~Kaylin

Edited to add: If all you're getting is the crepitus though, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Crepitus with GRINDING, how-ever, is another issue, and yes, you should go see a doctor for that.

I can't hear the music for my knees! Pain is your indicator, not noise. Go see a doctor if you can.

Originally Posted by anala

I can't hear the music for my knees!

..l;,

I was thinking of making an appointment with a physiotherapist just to get their opinion and see if there's anything I should/shouldn't be doing.

Originally Posted by ssille

Hi,

I don't want to make you scared, but I just been home for work for 2 months, and didn't dance for 5 months. It started with cracking...but it went worse and worse..... I'll tell you the story, just for noticing you really have to be carefull with knees and legs.

Like 5 years ago I had already an operation at my knee, a small one, and the doctor said everything is ok, allthough it didn't felt..... . I went several times back, but he kept saying there was no problem.
Finally, my house doctor told me it's not normally I have so many infections at my knee, every year I had one, so she send me to another specialist. And he found my leg was very bad....... :-( I had to stop dancing and I have to have operation. And yes, it's true, the more I danced the more I hearded this cracking sounds in my knee.... So know 5 months later, I start dancing again, I still cant' do all the steps, shimmy's, shoo shoo's, ...that I want to do, even hip drop is sometimes difficult. The specialist who is helping me with the revalidation is giving me extra exercises, so I can dance normal again in the future.... . For the rest of my life I have to take these glucosamine tablets, I can't jump or anything and I have to be carefull.

I just tell you know my story, so you know that you have to be carefull, especially with legs and knees. It all started with cracking :-( and I am younger as you (only 30)

take care

sil

That's awful! I'm sorry that happened to you and I hope you have many years of pain free dancing in your future.

Originally Posted by Kaylin

I get frequent cracking in my ankles and knees, but I also have had several knee injuries in the past (Once where I partially dislocated my knee-cap, then popped it back into place by standing).
I don't take anything for it, but I do physiotherapy every once in a while to help keep my pain to a minimum because I have Bursitis, and I turn 32 on Monday.

Strangely enough, I find the dancing actually HELPS with my knee pain. If I don't do a set of classes for at least a month, I get that familiar stabbing burning ache in my knees just under the knee-cap.

The key thing to remember is to go slow and mind what movements you're doing. If your knee feels odd or you get a sharp, stabbing pain, ease off the movement. Better to do it slowly and small at first to give your body the time to stretch itself out without causing you difficulty. I also find that using either a knee tensor (for stability and support) or shoe inserts for arch support is sometimes helpful.

But again, this is only my experience.

~Kaylin

Edited to add: If all you're getting is the crepitus though, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Crepitus with GRINDING, how-ever, is another issue, and yes, you should go see a doctor for that.

NO grinding (thank goodness). The only pain I get is when I've been doing alot of high-impact exercise. Then I'll get a mild twinge when I'm going down stairs or something. Scaling back on the high-impact has helped that alot and I get those twinges very often anymore.

Originally Posted by Asra*

NO grinding (thank goodness). The only pain I get is when I've been doing alot of high-impact exercise. Then I'll get a mild twinge when I'm going down stairs or something. Scaling back on the high-impact has helped that alot and I get those twinges very often anymore.

Those twinges of pain tell you that yes, your foot is hitting the floor too hard and possibly at an angle that the rest of your body is not happy with. The best thing you can do, if it's covered or you have the money to do so, is go and see a physiotherapist. The good ones will also assess your gaint (read: walk) to see how your foot is hitting the floor and turning when you walk.

Why all the focus on the foot? Because technically that's where everything else stems from. If you walk incorrectly, that will put strain on the ligaments and tendons in your knees, which will eventually work it's way up to your hips. The physiotherapist will also give you exercises to do at home or on your own as well, which will strengthen any problem areas.

And heed your knee pain. If it gets worse, back off and follow the RICE nmeonic; Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Me? I forgo the ice because it actually makes my knee pain worse, not better, pop an advil and get off my feet for a moment or two. But once the pain is gone or at a manageable level, I know I have to work the muscle groups again to prevent the pain.

Anyway, this isn't so much about pain as it is about cracking. Craking happens, it's how the body re-lubricates the joints and stretches things that need to be stretched. Like I said, so long as you're not getting grinding or pain along with it, then there's not alot of need to worry yet.

~Kaylin

Originally Posted by Kaylin

Those twinges of pain tell you that yes, your foot is hitting the floor too hard and possibly at an angle that the rest of your body is not happy with. The best thing you can do, if it's covered or you have the money to do so, is go and see a physiotherapist. The good ones will also assess your gaint (read: walk) to see how your foot is hitting the floor and turning when you walk.

Why all the focus on the foot? Because technically that's where everything else stems from. If you walk incorrectly, that will put strain on the ligaments and tendons in your knees, which will eventually work it's way up to your hips. The physiotherapist will also give you exercises to do at home or on your own as well, which will strengthen any problem areas.

And heed your knee pain. If it gets worse, back off and follow the RICE nmeonic; Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Me? I forgo the ice because it actually makes my knee pain worse, not better, pop an advil and get off my feet for a moment or two. But once the pain is gone or at a manageable level, I know I have to work the muscle groups again to prevent the pain.

Anyway, this isn't so much about pain as it is about cracking. Craking happens, it's how the body re-lubricates the joints and stretches things that need to be stretched. Like I said, so long as you're not getting grinding or pain along with it, then there's not alot of need to worry yet.

~Kaylin

Thanks for the input, Kaylin. I will have a PT look at it :)

Originally Posted by Asra*

Thanks for the input, Kaylin. I will have a PT look at it :)

No worries. Too many knee injuries in the past, so I know pretty much what to expect for the most part. Some of it is helpful, some of it isn't.

Hope that things work out for you. :)

~Kaylin

Originally Posted by Kaylin

No worries. Too many knee injuries in the past, so I know pretty much what to expect for the most part. Some of it is helpful, some of it isn't.

Hope that things work out for you. :)

~Kaylin

Thanks :)