“Should I worry if my joints crack and pop all the time?” A physiotherapist and rehabilitation expert share their thoughts

A woman holding her knee joint after it cracked

Credit: Getty

Strong Women


“Should I worry if my joints crack and pop all the time?” A physiotherapist and rehabilitation expert share their thoughts

By Lauren Geall

1 year ago

5 min read

Should you be anxious if your joints crack and pop loudly? Two experts explain why this happens and when you need to worry.

Welcome back to Just Curious, Strong Women’s new weekly series exploring all the random health and fitness questions you’ve always wondered about but never got the answer to.

This week, we’re exploring what’s happening below the surface when your joints pop and crack – and when it becomes a sign that something’s wrong.  


Our joints are weird and wonderful things. Without them, we’d be unable to move – which is why any issues or problems related to our joints can take a massive toll on our ability to function.

It’s understandable, then, that many of us are worried about how often our joints pop and crack. Hearing your hip click or toe crunch can be pretty alarming, especially when it’s loud enough to make the people around you sit up and take notice.  

But are these sounds cause for concern? Should we pay attention to how often our joints make a sound? And does it matter if your joints crack louder than the people around you?

To find out more, we sought the expertise of Jon Taberner, a senior rehabilitation specialist, and Nuffield Health’s physiotherapy quality lead Laura Stocks.  


Why do joints crack and pop?  

A bone joint

Credit: Getty

Most joint-related cracks and pops aren’t anything to worry about, no matter how scary they might sound. A lot of the time, they’re just the sound of gas bubbles bursting in the fluid around your joints; it’s most common in smaller joints, like your toes and fingers.

This thick fluid – also known as synovial fluid – is there to cushion the ends of your bones and reduce friction as you move, and contains gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Sometimes, when you flex your joints, a process called cavitation occurs, when the excess space around the joint leads to the formation of gas bubbles. When the joint moves and the space condenses, these bubbles pop – producing that ‘click’ sound we’re all familiar with.

It’s for this reason that you can’t purposely crack joints like your knuckles over and over again within a short period. When these gas bubbles pop they dissolve into a liquid form, so you have to wait for them to regenerate as the joint moves. This process usually takes between 15-20 minutes.  

This kind of gas dispersal is entirely normal, Stocks says. “Cracking joints can be noisy and concerning, but the good news is that it rarely means that there is any damage in the joint,” she explains. “There is a good body of research that confirms that clicking, grinding and crunching is very normal and does not correlate to injury.”

However, this isn’t the only reason you might hear a ‘pop’ come from your joints. If you hear a sound every time you move in a certain way – for example, when you’re doing a specific move in the gym – that might be a sign you’ve got tight muscles or tendons. In this case, the sound you hear is the sound of the tissue moving over the bone due to the tension that’s present; it should subside as you warm up and get the tendons moving.

These clicks can also be caused by wear and tear. “This can happen from the joint not being completely stable, so it moves in a slightly altered pattern to normal,” Taberner points out. “This causes the bones around the joints to rub against each other, which, over a long period of time, can cause this wear and tear. As it accumulates over time, this can lead to conditions like osteoarthritis.”

He continues: “The easiest way to prevent wear and tear is to stay active and do resistance-based strength training which will help keep the muscles and tendons around a joint strong and stable.” 

Why do some people’s joints click louder than others? 

A woman holding her hand after her knuckles click

Credit: Getty

In some cases, some people’s joints crack louder simply because more air gets trapped inside their joints, leading to a bigger pop. But a louder crack can also occur due to musculoskeletal conditions, Taberner explains.

“People with musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis may experience louder cracking in their joints because they experience greater movement against what is normal,” he says. “For instance, someone with knee osteoarthritis may find that their kneecap also has small side-to-side movements, opposed to back-and-forth, which you’d usually find in the joint.

“This side-to-side movement can also cause large ‘cracking’ sounds if the joint temporarily moves out of its traditional movement path and then moves back in – this is known as subluxation.” 

When should you seek help for joint cracking?  

A woman holding her back in pain

Credit: Getty

If your joint cracking is isolated to the smaller joints, such as fingers and toes, there are two questions to ask yourself when considering whether you need help: does it hurt, and does it stop you from doing any of the daily activities?

If the answer to both of those questions is no, then you probably don’t need to worry about your joint clicks. It’s only when one or both occur that seeking help is advised, Stocks explains.

“You may want to seek help from a physiotherapist who can assess the joint and provide a specific management plan to help you recover or manage the issue.” 

Taberner agrees. “For smaller joints like fingers and toes, you don’t need to worry about joint cracking, provided these aren’t painful or causing any lasting discomfort or pain.

“For larger joints, such as our hips or knees, ‘cracking’ could be a sign of wear and tear. If it’s common or has a repeating pattern (such as always ‘cracking’ when going up or down stairs for an example), speak to your GP or a physiotherapist so they can try to find the cause of the ‘cracking’ and advise you accordingly.” 


Images: Getty

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