After I began to barbell practice with gusto seven years in the past, I observed that my knees would make a loud crackling noise after I squatted. It sounded identical to milk hitting Rice Krispies.
I had by no means heard my knees make noises like that earlier than, so I assumed one thing was terribly mistaken.
“Nice! I’ve given myself arthritis, and I’m solely 33 years outdated! Perhaps these articles in Nineties Reader’s Digests had been proper: squats are dangerous on your knees. I wager all of the protein I’m consuming is damaging my kidneys, too.”
I began to research extra about my snap-crackle-and-popping knees to see if I needs to be nervous.
To my aid, I found that I don’t have arthritic knees. Crackling noises if you squat are widespread and usually innocuous. (An excessive amount of protein doesn’t harm your kidneys, both.)
In case your knees have been emitting Pop Rocks-esque noises if you squat and also you’ve been involved about it, learn on to set your worries relaxed.
Why Do Your Knees Crackle When You Squat?
Whereas it’s alarming to listen to your knees crackle and pop if you squat, it’s doubtless simply air bubbles being launched as you bend your knee joints.
This phenomenon known as crepitus.
Air builds up within the joints, and when it’s launched, it makes a crackling or popping noise.
You may expertise crepitus in any joint in your physique.
While you pop your knuckles earlier than a battle, the noise you hear is crepitus. You’re simply letting the air bubbles out of your knuckle joints.
Consider crepitus as pleasant little skeletal burps.
Is It Dangerous to Have the Crepitus?
Now you is perhaps pondering: “‘Crepitus’ sounds an terrible lot like ‘decrepit.’ So does having crepitus imply I’m on the trail to changing into a decrepit outdated man?”
So long as you don’t expertise ache alongside along with your knee crackles, crepitus isn’t an issue.
Once more, it’s doubtless simply air bubbles leaving your knee joints.
Should you expertise ache together with the crackling noises in your knees, then it’s best to get that checked out. It could possibly be a tendon difficulty, or the bones in your knees are grinding in opposition to one another. Don’t ignore ache! Ache is your physique’s means of telling you one thing is mistaken.
Can You Scale back the Crepitus Noise When You Squat?
Whereas crackling knee noises are doubtless benign, they could be a little bizarre and annoying. So is there something you are able to do to cut back the crepitus noise if you squat?
I’ve observed that my crepitus is loudest after I first begin my warm-up squats. The crackling reduces as I progress by way of the warm-up and into my working units. After I get to my last working set, my knees are not crackling. I assume I get all of the air out after so many reps. I additionally assume warming up the tissues across the knees helps cut back the crepitus noises.
You too can put on knee sleeves. Not solely do they supply help round your knees whilst you squat, however additionally they preserve your joints good and heat, which may also help cut back their crackling. Plus, having a bit of thick artificial cloth round your knees helps muffle the sound of their crackles and pops.
Backside line: In case your knees sound like Rice Krispies if you squat, you doubtless don’t have anything to fret about. It doesn’t imply you’re getting outdated and decrepit and can want rheumatism ointment like Uncle Wiggily. However, do be careful for that wily Woozie Wolf.
