Here’s What Your Cracking Joints Really Means 》

Are you constantly hearing your joints cracking lately?

This may be something you didn’t notice in your younger years. But you may have the trouble of your joints cracking repeatedly throughout the day as you have gotten a few years older. This could be a few simple cracks with just one part of your body throughout the day. Or it could be as frequent as cracking joints all over your body as you move from different positions all day. At this point, you may be wondering if you should be concerned about this new onset of joints cracking. Sometimes these popping of joints can be relieving, and other times it may leave you with a little discomfort. So is this something you should be worried about? Read on to learn what it really means when your joints crack.

The popping noise you hear when you move your joints is called crepitus, which means “rattle” in Latin, according to Healthline. While it may sound a little strange, experts say that it is actually a natural part of life.

The older you get, the more noise your joints can make, because some of your cartilage wears away as part of the normal aging process. Then these surfaces get a little rougher and so you get more noise as they rub against each other.

Dr. Kim L. Stearns, orthopedic surgeon