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We’ve all heard the old wive’s tale “cracking your joints leads to arthritis” and while this was debunked, joint cracking and popping can’t cause it, it can be an indicator that there is something wrong. Don’t ignore the health of your joints, particularly those that you are going to need in the future so take some preventative measures to help avoid knee popping and cracking in the future. Kathy shares some of the ways you can reduce harmful popping and protect your knees so you can use them from years to come.
A Little About Kathy:
Kathy Mitchell is a Health & Beauty Blogger. She likes to Go Out with her Friends, Travel, Swim and Practice Yoga. In her free time, you can find Kathy curled up Reading her Favorite Novel, or Writing in her Journal. To know more about her follow her on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
*Guest Post*
Have you noticed your knees have begun to make cracking and popping noises when you try to bend over? It can be one of the very first signs of arthritis. This is why we decided to write an article explaining what you need to know about knee popping and cracking and share 10 simple ways that can help you put a stop to it. Are you ready to remove these annoying noises once and for all? Let’s start, shall we?
What do you need to know about knee popping and cracking?
Knee popping and cracking is not exactly the term that is being used by the doctors to refer to this problem. Instead, there is a medical term known as crepitus that is being used to describe these noises that your knee produces. But before we proceed with explaining what knee crepitus means, let’s refresh our memories on the topic of the anatomy of the knee. As you probably know, the knee is constructed of the femur, tibia, fibula and the patella or the kneecap that seems to be connected these three bones.
There are also certain ligaments and meniscus present to make this bond, even more, stronger and secure so that you can move your legs in the way that they are supposed to be moved. There is synovial fluid present to make the movements in the knee even smoother. Well, sometimes gas starts to build up in the areas that surround the knee and cause bubbles to form in the synovial fluid.
Once these bubbles are formed, next time, you try to move your knee, these exact bubbles burst which leads to the cracking and popping noises that you have heard lately. This is totally normal, and it happens to all people from time to time. However, these noises can also be caused due to the damages to the knee joint due to Arthritis.
Knee injuries can also lead to the occurring of these noises. But most commonly, knee pain treatments treat this problem as well while they focus on treating the pain that you have been feeling due to knee injury or Arthritis.
10 ways that you can get rid of knee popping and cracking noises
- Improve your diet – It is time to improve your diet and reconsider the way that you eat. Now that you are getting older, the chances for inflammation and Arthritis increase so what you would want to do, if you are interested in preventing Arthritis, is to make some changes in your diet. You would need to include more anti-inflammatory foods such as salmon, tuna, leafy vegetables, Vitamin C sources, milk, eggs, etc. Your body needs the power of the healthy Omega-3 fatty acids to protect its joints and reduce any chance of inflammation and Arthritis.
- Take a joint supplement – Consider taking a proper joint supplement like Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplements that you can find anywhere. These supplements concentrate on relieving the Arthritis joint pain, inflammation, swelling and improving the range of motion. They will also lubricate your joints and get rid of those cracking noises in no time.
- Always warm up – Do not skip the warm-up that is especially beneficial if you are dealing with knee popping and cracking noises. Spend at least 10 minutes to do a proper warm-up before you proceed with your exercise plan. This way, you will be able to avoid any muscle and joint injuries and get a great workout season!
- Squat correctly – If you are dealing with knee problems, it is for the best to avoid doing squats, or at least do them properly. Make sure that your back is straight as you bring your body down and your feet are placed strongly on the ground.
- Stop doing activities that cause pain – Now that you have been feeling knee pain and hearing those annoying sounds, it would be for the best if you avoid exercises like leg extensions, hamstring/adductor static stretches with locked knees, etc. which put extra pressure on your knees.
- Jump properly – When you jump, it is important to avoid to land with your knees straight. This way, it is your knees that absorb all the force and pressure which is pretty bad for them. The correct way to land would be into a half squat position so that your muscles and tendons would be the ones to absorb all the pressure and force as they are meant to do.
- Activate your glutes – Weak glutes will enable you to do your squats as you should do them properly, putting once again, extra pressure on your knees. This is why you should pay more attention to exercising your glutes as well and making them stronger.
- Improve your hip mobility – While your knees are meant for stability, your hips are the ones that are meant for mobility, not the other way around. However, this happens very often due to the decreased hip mobility within many people. Which is why you should introduce more exercises that will improve your hip mobility into your workout session next time.
- Improve your ankle mobility – The same goes for your ankles – they are meant for mobility, not your knees. Weak ankles with reduced mobility put the extra pressure on your knees. Make sure that you have enough exercises that are meant to increase the ankle mobility if you want to stop hearing those cracking and popping sounds.
- Wear proper footwear – One of the major causes of knee pain and crepitus is wearing improper footwear. Flip-flops, high heels, and flat shoes are just some of the many different footwear options that easily lead to knee pain, cracking and popping. Instead, chose to wear athletic shoes as much as you can to protect your feet, ankles, and joints. Plus, they will help you improve your posture as well.
Approximately 27 million people in the world suffer from Arthritis right now. So it is alright to feel worried that you may be the next victim once you notice something different about your knees like cracking and popping sound all of the sudden. But even if Arthritis is not the cause behind these annoying sounds, this means that your body is telling you something. And it would not hurt to take the things in your hands and work to improve the condition of your knees. By using these 10 simple tricks that we have shared with you, you can work to improve your knees and enjoy a life without cracking or popping sounds or even joint pain. You can see how important it is to eat healthily, do your squats properly and wear proper footwear among the many other small, yet important steps that you would like to take.
