Crunching sound in knees...

[Smurfy]

Yesterday while brushing my teeth i was doing some plie' squats (did i spell that right?). and on the decent, i could hear a crunching sound in my right knee. i couldnt really feel anything but i definitely heard it. what could be rubbing together in the knee to cause this crunching sound? i dont really have pain in the knee but i do feel weak in the knee area in general on both sides. somehow, crunching sounds just dont seem right LOL any insight would be appreciated!

 

[lucidblue]

I've had the crunching sound too. Usually when pushing in the clutch on my car. I have cartilage problems in my knee and my knee cap tracks wrong.

 

[bignate73]

does it crunch if you squat with your feet more forward? could be you have more strength in your vastus lateralus which can be causing some patellar tracking problems.

 

[Liftbig]

its not right, but i dont think its a big worry. it could be that the articular cartilage on the underside of your knee cap is wearing. their is a natural groove that your knee cap slides on and if the cartilage wear it wont slide right and will sound like its cracking. its really just the cartilage rubbing together. lots of runners get this and so do high jumpers, basketball players...etc.

 

[Smurfy]

does it crunch if you squat with your feet more forward? could be you have more strength in your vastus lateralus which can be causing some patellar tracking problems.

Nate - what exactly is the vastus lateralus? if this is the muscle at the front of the quad which looks "rounded" from the side view, then this is definitely me. my quads are huge but not sure if thats what youre talking about....
also, i have had dislocating kneecaps since grade school each kneecap has dislocated numerous times which i know has had to cause some kind of damage or scar tissue (?). i have had no dislocation of any joints since i have been lifting for over 3 years now everything seems stronger.

 

[Liftbig]

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05032.htm

heres a link...

it describes chondromalacia(aka, a million other things, anterior knee pain, jumpers knee, etc.)

 

[Smurfy]

its not right, but i dont think its a big worry. it could be that the articular cartilage on the underside of your knee cap is wearing. their is a natural groove that your knee cap slides on and if the cartilage wear it wont slide right and will sound like its cracking. its really just the cartilage rubbing together. lots of runners get this and so do high jumpers, basketball players...etc.

yeah, i dont figure that its anything to really stress about because im not feeling pain with the crunching. the only time my knees cause me pain is after i run so i dont run anymore LOL maybe the cartilage inside the knee is worn from all the dislocations

 

[lucidblue]

I can also feel the crunching, not just hear it. It's really gross and kinda freaks me out. I was supposed to get surgery a couple of years ago and didn't because I didn't want to ruin ski season. My doc said my injury won't cause any other damage, so it's really about what pain I can deal with. He used to be a surgeon for the US ski team, so he just laughed when I said "well, can this wait until ski season is over." By the time skiing was over I decided not to get surgery.

 

[Smurfy]

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05032.htm

heres a link...

it describes chondromalacia(aka, a million other things, anterior knee pain, jumpers knee, etc.)

awesome thanks im looking at it now and i see they mention dislocation causing a tracking problem with the kneecap..i may be on to something here

 

[lucidblue]

chondromalacia(aka, a million other things, anterior knee pain, jumpers knee, etc.)

That's me.

Smurfy, chondroitin and glucosamine work wonders. I'll do anything not to get surgery. I'm avoiding mostly due to fear, but also because of arthritis issues down the road.