Snap Crackle Pop! That's my knee lately-what's wrong?

I would see an othopedic...ask your DR for a recommendation...I have crackling...it could be a whole number of things including - worn down miniscus, cartiledge, the alignment of your knees,etc.

As for exercise, try exercise that doesn't hurt as much like the eliptical trainer or a bike. Stay away from lunges for a while but focus on leg lifts that dont stress the knees and ham string curls. Also, if you have any swelling or are in a lot of pain, ib profin helps.

But the best thing to do is see a dr, because you can't self diagnose knee problems and if it's something bad that you ignore you will end up needing expensive surgery.

Good luck!

you made need a kneesles vaccine booster...

coould be worse... could be smallcox....

Thank you Portage Path Elementary School... I'll be here all week... try the apple cobbler....

Or worse....age.

Sounds like Krispitis.

It sounds EXACTLY like Krispitis when you hear it in person, too. I just can't figure out whether Krispitis is a matter for concern or not.

This is when you start wishing for insurance-- it would be so nice to be able to just go to the doctor, just to be on the safe side... I appreciate your advice, Jonsey, I'm sure you're right that I should go to the doctor instead of just ignoring it. But I don't think I can afford xrays and whatever else it would take to figure out if it's serious or not. It isn't a matter of not wanting to bother or something, so I just come here and bug you guys for advice; it's a matter of simply not having the option of going to the doctor about it. Drat.

My knees do that, and I am only 20..... Been doing it since I was 17.... at first no pain... then me knees started giving out on me and I'd just kinda fall down... they put me into physical therapy and though they only hurt once in a while now, they still creek and crack on me all the time.... you can ever feel my knee cap moving around the wrong way...

But I forget what it is called patella.... something syndrome....

Re: Snap Crackle Pop! That's my knee lately-what's wrong?


I echo Jonsey's suggestion to see an orthopedic specialist, but understand that's not a viable option for you.

My best guess is a miniscus tear. Could have happened over time, and that's why you are not associating it with any "injury." Usually if you're hearing your knee like that, your knee cartilage is flopping around a bit.

I have a torn A/C ligament in my left knee -- a 20 year old soccer injury. It has transformed into cartilage damage, because I've never stopped playing soccer and other sports. I have "Krispyitis" all the time, not just when bearing weight. So I've learned a few things to help with knee problems:

Number one: I would immediately cease doing any lunges or squats. Those are not good exercises for your knees in general, and particularly so if you are experiencing pain or hearing the noises you're hearing. As Crazielady indicated, the next stage is your knee will go out. I suggest stopping right now.

Number two: Increase the strength and flexibility of your hamstring muscles. This is very important. At the gym, hit the leg curl machine. Building the strength of those muscles makes for happier knees. Most of the time our thigh muscles are much, much stronger than our hamstrings, and that can contribute to problems. Best thing you can do to rehab a knee injury is to strengthen your "hamsters," and increase their flexibility. Do lots of hamstring stretching exercises throughout the day. Stretching 6 times a day for ten seconds each is better than stretching once for a minute.

Number three: Learn some exercises to stretch the muscles in your hip joints. Sounds funny (and odd), but if you have flexibility there, it will often reduce stress on your knees.

Number four: You can continue to strengthen your quads/thighs, but use the leg press machine or the leg extension machine. And don't use crazy heavy weights -- use lower weight, and higher reps. And never ... I repeat ... NEVER allow your leg to go past a 90 degree angle when performing any quad exercise.


Good luck.

thanks to both Crazie and Tico! CL, that does sound similar--I'll start being more careful and hopefully they won't just give out on me like yours did, you poor thing! And thanks for reassuring me it doesn't have to mean I'm old! (So there, Bella! nyahhh)

Tico, that's a lot of good advice, I appreciate it very much. It's not falling on deaf ears, either, I'll definitely follow all your suggestions! I had stopped doing the lunges and squats since it had gotten worse, but then we went on a very active vacation with lots of hiking, and so it got worse even though I wasn't doing those exercises anymore. I'll work on the hamstrings because I know you're right, my quads are way stronger than my hamstrings...time for the leg curl machine. I'll replace my squats with leg presses too.

I'm very grateful for the advice, since I really can't go talk to the doctor about it. I tried to do some research on it myself but since there are about a zillion things that go wrong w/ knees, it's not too easy to figure out on your own. . . I mainly was just hoping for some suggestions of what type of exercises I could do (and which to NOT do ) to help it on my own, so all your suggestions are great.

You're welcome.

One other "different" exercise you might incorporate into your workouts is targeting the muscle group in your quadriceps that is located just above your knee (vastus medialis). These are fast-twitch muscles that help hold your patella in place, and will help with your miniscus problem.

The best way I know of to "target" that muscle group, is to drastically limit the range of motion in either a leg press or leg extension. I would say no more than 10 to 15 degrees from straight. The key is to do high reps. You ought to feel it burning primarily in that muscle group.

ditto what Tico said, particularly number one. lunges will be your biggest nightmare if you keep doing them.

One way to strengthen your quads is with a wall sit. Put your feet about two feet in front of a wall and slide your back down until you're almost in a sitting position. Make sure your toes are further out than your knees. Hold for a minute (if you can), repeat four times.

Oh, I'd forgotten about wall sits, I used to do them a lot. Thanks for the suggestion, J B, I'll give them a try again, although first I'm giving my lower body a break from everything strenuous for a couple weeks-- the new semester's just started, and that means exercise will be lowest priority for a little while.

a physiotherapist should be able to devise a workout schedule for you that reduce stress on joints/muscles. perhaps some therapy mught also help.
mrs h recently developed pain in her elbow joint but didn't pay much attention to it. i finally persuaded her to tell our doctor. since we go swimming every moring, he suggested she try and reduce the strain on the joint by either not using the arm when swimming, or better stop swimming for a couple of weeks and do water-exercises only. he also put a bandage on the elbow to reduce muscle stress and referred her to both physiotherapy and massage therapy. after a about two weeks there is some - small - improvement.
almost forgot, he also put her on a treatment of anti-inflamatory medication since he suspects an inflamation of muscle tissue. hbg