Why Your Joints Pop (And When To See A Chiropractor About It)

I don't know about you, but I almost always take notice whenever my joints start to pop or make some sort of popping noise in general. I find that, at least for me, these noises tend to happen as I am standing up after a long period of sitting down, or as I am bending to sit after a long period of standing still in once place and posture. Of course, these noises can be explained away by a variety of particular causes and reasons, but the good news to be had here is that the sounds of a pop, creak, or crack in your joints is very rarely harmless at all, as I learned from a helpful article that I recently came across on Care 2.

Even joints that are completely healthy and have experienced virtually no strain or injury at all have been known to make an occasional popping or cracking noise at least on occasion. If you are a chiropractic patient, you may have heard your joints pop or make some loud noises during your sessions as your doctor of chiropractic adjusted your joints, but this is also almost always completely normal. Most of the time, the joints pop and make noise due to the release of gas.

The gas I'm referring to here is different than intestinal gas that can cause bloating and discomfort in the abdomen, of course. The joints of the body are filled with a substance known in the healthcare community as synovial fluid, which works to lubricate the joints while also providing nourishment to the cells of the body that form cartilage. As you may have guessed, this fluid contains dissolved gasses such as nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Any sort of stretching of the joint ligaments, whether it is intentional or not, causes a change in pressure to the area that leads to a release of carbon dioxide in the form of gas bubbles. The gas bubbles burst and end up creating those loud popping and cracking sounds you hear. For themost part, this is the cause of joint popping.

Still, there may be times when your joints are trying to signal that something is wrong. If you hear a crunching sound in the joints of your knees almost every time you bend over, you may want to get your knees checked by a licensed doctor of chiropractic. This could signal a strain, injury, or even loss of muscle tissue in the area.

Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Florentino Luna