Knee replacement surgery is the last option to be considered, but with bone-on-bone arthritis that causes severe knee pain and limitation, it typically is the only long term solution. Prior to replacement surgery, you should try low impact aerobic exercise, activity modification, acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen, weight loss and steroid injections.
Bone & Joint Conditions
Your bones are your body's framework. It's assembled with bones that are constantly rebuilding and joints that allow you to move. It's an intricate system affected by your metabolism, nutrition, medications, wear-and-tear and medical problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. Among bone and joint problems are osteoporosis (brittle bones), osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) and gout. Prevention is always optimal, but when problems occur, treatment might involve weight-bearing exercise, dietary changes, exercise, medical treatments and possibly surgery.
Recently Answered
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TriStar Centennial Medical Center answeredSee All 3 AnswersTight muscles can place a constant force on a joint, potentially pulling it out of alignment and putting more stress on areas that are not meant to bear that stress. This can lead to increased joint damage.
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Discovery Health answeredYou know that familiar sound that comes from lacing your fingers together, turning your palms away from you and bending back your fingers? Joints produce that familiar CRACK when bubbles burst in fluid that surrounds the joint.
Joints are where two separate bones meet. They are held in place by connective tissues and ligaments. All the joints in our bodies are surrounded by a thick, clear liquid called synovial fluid. When you stretch or bend your fingers to pop the knuckles, you are causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. When they do, the connective tissue capsule surrounding the joint is stretched. Stretching this capsule causes its volume to increase. As we know from chemistry class, an increase in volume results in a pressure decrease. So when the synovial fluid pressure drops, gases dissolved in the fluid become less soluble. This forms bubbles through a process called cavitation. If the joint is stretched far enough, the pressure drops so low that these bubbles burst. That's when we hear the familiar pop we associate with knuckle cracking.
It takes about 30 minutes for the gas to re-dissolve into the joint's fluid. During this time, your knuckles will not crack. Once the gas is re-dissolved, cavitation is again possible. You can pop your knuckles again.
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Discovery Health answered
According to Anatomy and Physiology Instructors' Cooperative, there has only been one in-depth study regarding the possible detriments of knuckle popping. This study, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, took an in-depth look at 300 knuckle crackers for evidence of joint damage. Results revealed no apparent connection between someone cracking his joints and arthritis; however, habitual knuckle crackers did show signs of other damage, including soft tissue damage in the joint capsule and a decrease in grip strength. The damage is most likely a result of the rapid and repeated stretching of the ligaments surrounding the joint. Professional baseball pitchers experience similar effects in various joints of the pitching arm. Assuming you haven't signed a multimillion dollar contract to repeatedly pop your knuckles, the habit hardly seems worth doing with the possible risk to your joints.
On the plus side, there is evidence of increased mobility in joints immediately after popping. When joints are manipulated, the Golgi tendon organs (sets of nerve endings involved in humans' motion) are stimulated and the muscles surrounding those joints are relaxed. This is part of the reason people feel "loose" and invigorated after leaving a chiropractor's office. Backs, knees, elbows and every other movable joint are subject to the same manipulation as knuckles.
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Dr. John Van der Werff, DDS , Dentist, answeredIt is usually caused by a dislocation of the disc that sits between the lower part of the jaw called the condyle and the upper part of the jaw.
As we open our mouth, the lower jaw moves forward and if there is a dislocate disc the lower jaw pops into place so that the disc is between the two bones.
It is not usually treated unless there is pain or the mouth does not fully open.
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Jumo Health answeredBleeding in joints, like the knee, means that blood builds up, causing problems. When this happens, it can at first feel like a tingle. As the blood builds up, the joint swells, feels warm, and starts to hurt, which can make it difficult and painful to move around.
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See All 3 AnswersNumbness and pain radiating in the arms could be due to a condition called cervical radiculopathy, also known as a pinched nerve.
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American Chiropractic Association answeredAdjustment (or manipulation) of a joint may result in the release of a gas bubble between the joints, which makes a popping sound. The same thing occurs when you “crack” your knuckles. The noise is caused by the change of pressure within the joint, which results in gas bubbles being released. There is usually minimal, if any, discomfort involved. -
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Kathleen Porter , Alternative & Complementary Medicine, answeredSee All 2 AnswersThe video above, posted by Dr. Oz, is an excellent depiction of how cartilage is worn away by degenerative or osteo-arthritis. While one cannot avoid certain traumas and the effects of rheumatoid and other system types of arthritis, there are things we can do to help prevent the development of osteoarthritis, which, in many cases, is not an inevitable feature of aging.
Learn to align your bones in the same way you did as a healthy toddler. Bend at the primary weight-bearning joints, with knees aiming out over your pinky toes. If you are lucky enough to know any toddlers, observe how they bend and practice doing it the same way. These little ones are the "gurus" of how to live in natural bodies that have not yet taken on the misaligned habits of use that wear away joints over many decades.