Joint crunch can be both a harmless symptom and the cause of serious pathologies: tendonitis, arthritis and arthrosis. Nikolai Subbotin, orthopedic traumatologist of the Medscan group’s Clinical Hospital in Yauza, told socialbites.ca about this.
“There is always synovial fluid in the joint – it lubricates and nourishes the joint. This fluid contains dissolved gases in the form of bubbles, which sometimes separate from the liquid part and cause a crackling sound during movement. But this is truly a crisis, representing a harmless story that does not require any treatment. But everything is not always so simple, ”said the expert.
According to him, a common cause of the appearance of a crisis is hypertrophy or an increase in the size of the fold of the inner lining of the joint, which produces synovial fluid. These folds may be hypertrophied due to overload, trauma, or the nature of the joint structure.
“If the cracking of these folds is not painful, it does not require surgical treatment. However, it also happens that the patient constantly feels pain along with a crunch in the same spot. In this case, the patient needs to undergo MRI or other types of imaging to understand whether the condition requires surgery or conservative treatment, especially local injection therapy, exercise therapy and physiotherapy,” said doctor Nikolai Subbotin.
The third option for the appearance of crackling is tendonitis, or inflammation of the tendons of the tissues that run along the joint. In the presence of a disease, the joints break, thereby causing a crackle. Usually tendinitis is accompanied by pain with movement and palpation and needs to be treated.
“The most common story about cracking joints is arthrosis. A crunch may appear as a result of damage to the articular cartilage. The pattern here is that a healthy joint is covered with a sliding film that allows smooth gliding and accurate, smooth movements. This film is for a variety of reasons – trauma, mechanical overload – when damaged, the collagen fibers that make up the entire cartilage begin to slowly relax and form a kind of fringe. Depending on the stage of cartilage damage, this crunch can be caused not only by sound, but also by pain,” said the orthopedic traumatologist.
Also, according to him, hypermobility of the joints can cause a crunch. This inherited change in connective tissue – tendons, ligaments, capsules and other things leads to excessive extensibility.
“With hypermobility, the joints can become overextended to one side and the other, and when they return to their original position, a click occurs, which indicates that the joint has taken the correct position,” said the expert.
He noted that the fourth – the most dangerous group – is arthritis – for some reason they are directly related to inflammation in the joints and need urgent treatment.
“Arthritis can be caused by rheumatoid, autoimmune diseases, infectious or metabolic disorders, especially gout and similar diseases, when uric acid salts accumulate in the joint, joint surface or cartilage. mechanics of joint movement and cartilage damage. All of this can also cause a crackle, ”said orthopedist Subbotin.
He recommended that you consult a doctor in case of pain during joint cracking. If there is no pain, the reason most likely lies in the harmless bursting air bubbles.
Formerly traumatologist-orthopedist judicial An unbalanced diet causes arthritis and arthrosis.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.