Why Do My Joints Click and Crack, and Does It Matter?
Most clicking joints are completely harmless. The sound usually comes from tiny gas bubbles collapsing inside the joint fluid. It can also come from tendons sliding over bone. If the noise happens without pain, swelling or loss of movement, it almost never means something is wrong. But when clicking comes with pain or stiffness, it can be a sign that your alignment or joint surfaces need a closer look.
Key points
- Painless clicking is normal and does not cause arthritis.
- The medical term for joint noise is crepitus, meaning any grinding, popping or crackling sound from a joint.
- People with joint hypermobility often notice popping more often, all over the body.
- Clicking that comes with pain, swelling or catching may point to a structural problem worth looking into.
- A standing, weight-bearing scan can show alignment problems that lying-down scans may miss.
What is crepitus and what does it mean?
Crepitus is the medical term for any noise that comes from a joint. It covers everything from one loud pop when you crack your knuckles to a quieter grinding feeling in your knee as you climb stairs. In most cases, crepitus simply shows that your joints are moving. It does not mean they are damaged.
Inside every synovial joint (the type that moves freely, like your knees, hips, shoulders and knuckles) there is a small amount of lubricating fluid. When you stretch or bend the joint, changes in pressure can make dissolved gases, mostly carbon dioxide, form a tiny bubble. When that bubble collapses, you hear a pop. This process is called cavitation, and it is why you can crack your knuckles. The joint usually needs a short rest before it can pop again, because the gas has to dissolve back into the fluid.
Other common causes of joint noise include tendons or ligaments sliding over bony bumps (sometimes called "snapping"), or rough cartilage surfaces rubbing together. For example, tendons snapping over the hip bone cause the "clunking hip" many people notice when they stand up.
What causes popping joints all over the body?
Several things can make you notice clicking in many joints at once. None of them is automatically a reason to worry.
Gas bubbles forming and collapsing in joint fluid. The most common cause of a painless pop.
A tendon sliding over a bony point, often felt in the hip, shoulder or ankle.
Joints that move beyond the normal range click more easily, especially under load. Read more about hypermobility syndrome.
Normal wear with age can make joint surfaces slightly rough. This causes a gritty grinding sound known as crepitus.
Sitting for a long time and then standing up suddenly is a very common trigger. The joints have been still, gas has built up, and a quick stretch releases it all at once. This is why so many people notice cracking when they first get out of bed or get up from a desk.
When should you worry about clicking joints?
Most of the time, never. Research consistently shows that cracking your knuckles does not lead to arthritis. But in a few patterns, joint noise does need attention.
A pop with a sharp or aching pain could suggest a cartilage tear, a labral problem or another structural problem.
Joint noise with visible swelling or a warm feeling may point to inflammation inside the joint.
If the joint feels like it gets stuck or gives way after the click, something may be blocking it mechanically.
Crepitus that steadily increases along with stiffness or less range of movement is worth looking into.
Seek urgent help if you have sudden severe joint pain with redness and fever, or if any joint locks completely and you cannot move it. Contact your doctor, call your local emergency number, or go to the nearest emergency department.
How does a standing scan help with painful clicking joints?
A standard X-ray, CT scan or MRI asks you to lie down. When you lie flat, gravity is taken out of the picture. Your muscles relax, your joints decompress, and alignment changes that only appear when you are upright can be completely hidden.
Your body works as a connected chain from your feet to your head. If one area is slightly out of alignment, another area compensates. That compensation can change the way load passes through a joint. Over time, the extra stress can cause the grinding, catching or painful clicking you feel when you are upright and moving under your own weight.
An EOS scan at ScanAlign captures your full skeleton while you stand and bear weight, using about 90% less radiation than a standard X-ray, around ten times less. Because the image shows your real, loaded posture, it can reveal leg-length differences, pelvic tilts and subtle joint angles that would not appear on a lying-down scan. This helps your treating clinician understand exactly where the chain is breaking down, rather than just treating the noisy joint on its own.
If your joints click with pain, stiffness or swelling, a standing alignment assessment can show what is really going on.
Book a free video consultationWhen MRI is the better choice: EOS shows bones, joints and alignment. If your clinician suspects a soft-tissue problem such as torn cartilage, an inflamed tendon or nerve compression, MRI is usually the better tool. The two scans answer different questions and sometimes work best together.
What helps reduce noisy or painful joints?
If your clicking is painless, no treatment is needed. It is simply your joints doing what they do. For clicking that comes with discomfort, the next steps depend on what is causing the noise.
- Stay active. Regular, moderate movement keeps joint fluid moving and tendons supple. Sitting for long periods often makes clicking worse when you finally move.
- Strengthen the muscles around the joint. Weak muscles around a joint can allow more movement than it is designed for. This increases snapping and grinding.
- Get the right imaging. If clicking comes with pain, understanding your alignment under load is a sensible first step. You can book an assessment if there is pain with it, without needing a referral from your doctor.
- Work with a physiotherapist or osteopath. They can find muscle imbalances and give you targeted exercises based on your scan findings.
ScanAlign does not provide treatment. It provides the detailed, weight-bearing imaging that helps your treating clinician plan what comes next.
Before you start treatment, or change the one you are on, it is worth getting a detailed diagnosis. Knowing whether the cause sits in your pelvis, your legs or your spine changes what will actually help.
Frequently asked questions about clicking joints
No. Several studies have found no link between regular knuckle cracking and arthritis. The sound is caused by gas bubbles collapsing in the joint fluid, and it does not damage the cartilage.
As we age, cartilage surfaces can become slightly rougher and tendons a little less elastic. This means they are more likely to make a sound when they move. Unless the noise comes with pain or swelling, it is simply a normal part of ageing.
Painless crepitus in the knee is very common and usually harmless. If the grinding comes with pain, swelling or a feeling that the knee is unstable, it is worth getting it checked. A weight-bearing scan can show how your knee alignment changes under load.
Yes. People with joint hypermobility have looser connective tissue, so their joints move through a wider range. This extra movement creates more chances for tendons to snap over bone and for gas bubbles to form and collapse.
A hip that clicks when you stand up is usually caused by a tendon, most commonly the iliotibial band or the iliopsoas, sliding over a bony point. If it is painless, it is typically harmless. If it hurts, an assessment can check whether your pelvic alignment or leg length is playing a part.
No. ScanAlign is a private, self-pay clinic at 19 Harley Street, London. You can book directly yourself. The process starts with a free video consultation, so the team can confirm the scan is right for you.
An EOS scan uses about 90% less radiation than a standard X-ray, around ten times less. This makes it one of the lowest-dose skeletal imaging options available.
A normal X-ray captures one area at a time and is usually taken lying down. An EOS scan images your whole skeleton in one standing pass. It shows how all your joints line up under your real body weight. This full-chain view can reveal problems that a single-area, lying-down image misses.
Rarely. Painless clicking on its own is almost never serious. Clicking combined with persistent pain, swelling, locking or less range of movement is the pattern that needs investigation, to rule out cartilage damage, labral tears or early joint changes.
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Clicking with pain? Let's find out why.
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Book a free video consultationWritten by Abbas Dhami (Specialist Diagnostic Radiographer)
Sources
- Deweber K, Olszewski M, Ortolano R. Knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2011;24(2):169-174.
- NHS. Joint hypermobility. nhs.uk/conditions/joint-hypermobility.
- Kawchuk GN, Fryer J, Jaremko JL, Zeng H, Rowe L, Thompson R. Real-time visualization of joint cavitation. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(4):e0119470.
This page is general information and not a diagnosis.
ScanAlign is the trading name of CoreMed Solutions Ltd and operates under The Harley Street Hospital's CQC licence.