Joint Clicking?

[Lilymylove]

I'm only 17 but the joints in my hips and legs click a lot when I move. I notice it most when I'm doing yoga. Does anyone know if this is related to Celaic Disease? or what it is from?

[tarnalberry]

Is it really primarily during yoga or other times when the joints are at a wide range of motion, or is it also when just walking at a normal pace and sitting/standing?

"Clicking" is a kind of generic term, and three things come to mind:

1) joint popping, where small bubbles of gas build up in the joints and get compressed and pop (like "cracking your knuckles")

2) cartilage defects, particularly in the knee (meniscus, actually) but happen in the hip too, usually due to some variety of trauma (even if it doesn't otherwise feel that bad). basically, a little flap of cartilage comes detached from the rest of the cartilage in the joint, and can 'flap' back and forth, sometimes being caught in the joint as it moves and another part of the joint "clicks" over the defect. this usually is not without some discomfort. it's usually worth checking with a doctor on this one. treatment is usually rest and rehab (physical therapy), but occasionally surgery is required.

3) particularly in yoga, tendons slipping over a knob of bone and "thudding" back to a shorter setting. it's particularly common in the hip, in wide-legged poses when bringing the knees in to the chest, because of the shape of the femur and the movement the tendons have to make. this is often not terribly uncomfortable, outside of the moment the tendon has to slip over the bony structure. it is, however, not a good thing to repeatedly do (though I know, it helps you get deeper into a pose) as it overstretches and then suddenly 'snaps back' the tendons (and sometimes ligaments), which can weaken them over time. this is when the development of listening to the body, and stopping when *it* needs you to, rather than the mind (or ego) wants you to stop, becomes the primary focus of your practice. (not that this is easy! but it's an even bigger part of yoga than the asana practice (physical poses).)

[ravenwoodglass]

Wow Tiffany what a great description of what is going on. Thanks for posting it.

As far as it being associated with celiac all I can say is that my joints don't creak and pop anymore. I had this since I was little along with pain, and always thought it was due to my extremly hypermobile joints. I wonder though if it had something more to do with the inflammation, I don't know but I do know that my knees don't sound like creaking doors any more and my hip doesn't pop and most times my fingers don't get 'stuck'. Oh and they also don't hurt anymore either.

[mushroom]

"Clicking" is definitely a generic term, and I found out we have to be really careful in how we describe things to our doctors. I used to complain about my knee "clicking" all the time and was told by all doctors that it was a completely normal thing. Later, upon arthroscopic examination, I discovered that what I had described as "clicking" was actually my bone "cracking" as little bits were chipped away from the bone on bone contact Knee replacement followed