Bilateral crepitus in knees

[NiceCupOfTea]

For a few years (10 or more) I have had the odd bit of creaking in my knee joints but it has been getting worse of late, and God forbid if I do any running or anything that puts any extra strain on them - they're then much worse for the next few weeks. They don't really hurt but they are uncomfortable and I can feel them creaking. It's really noticeable going up stairs or cycling for example.

Anyway, recently broke my toe so was on two crutches, obviously putting more weight on right knee and jarring it, and it's started to become worse and actually painful, especially on stairs.

Went to see the doc about it and she confirmed my initial (timewasting) feeling by asking did I not think that perhaps it was worse because of the crutches?! I was a bit taken aback and said that I was sure it was, but what could I do about it!?

She then felt my knees as I moved / crunched them and suddenly seemed a bit more serious!

Anyway, I've had a physio referral (maybe for the toe? Not sure), and been for an x-ray of my knees.

I'm a bit concerned about it now - did a bit of googling (I know, I know) and keep coming up with osteoarthritis

Anybody got any experience of this or offer an advice?

Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Friday 9th April 00:53

[NiceCupOfTea]

No docs or anybody with any experience of this?

[E21_Ross]

could be a massive number of things. how old are you and have you done lots of weight bearing sports in the past? could be the patella is not tracking properly. you mention running, do you do a lot? possibly you have strengthened vastus lateralis more than medialis, this is a common cause of patella not tracking properly. it's nigh on impossible to diagnose of the internet, but OA is by far from the only cause of crepitus. could also be patella alta, where the patella sits higher than it should. i used to suffer from this, particularly in right knee (i do a lot of running), and stretching my quads and hip flexors an awful lot has reduced the pain and crepitus by a substantial margin. this is because the patella basically sits in the quadriceps tendon (then patella tendon...some say patella ligament, either way...) and tight quads can pull this up slightly. x-rays on it will show OA as well as patella alta if present.

edit: an image to make it more clearly what i mean

Edited by E21_Ross on Saturday 10th April 14:27

[NiceCupOfTea]

Thanks for that. I am 35, not done much running at all, just the odd bit when on a health kick. A touch overweight but nothing silly. I haven't abused my knees - the odd bit of kneeling on the drive when washing the car when I was younger, but nothing too much.

X-rays taken on Thursday so hopefully will find out next week if there's anything amiss.

[E21_Ross]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Thanks for that. I am 35, not done much running at all, just the odd bit when on a health kick. A touch overweight but nothing silly. I haven't abused my knees - the odd bit of kneeling on the drive when washing the car when I was younger, but nothing too much.

X-rays taken on Thursday so hopefully will find out next week if there's anything amiss.

unless you've had some previous trauma to BOTH knees (you say you get crepitus in both knees....) i'm going to all but rule out degenerative joint disease / osteoarthritis. that would be very young to get it without repeated stress to both those joints.

heres to hoping it's not something like CPPD joking that's rare at 35

would be interesting to hear the x-ray results though. are you sure they are for the knees and not the toe? obviously not done a physical exam but can't see the need for x-ray at the moment unless the GP found more in the physical?

keep up posted.

Edited by E21_Ross on Saturday 10th April 20:21

[pacman1]

OP, do you take any glucosamine suppliments at all?
Once you realise that you really do have to take 'em for 3 months before any benefits are likely to be noticed, you might find they're an option.
I used to hate off road running because of knee niggles until I used them properly.
Grass verges used to be a no no, but ended up doing a 20 mile off roader, no issues!
Worked for me, anyway.

[NiceCupOfTea]

E21_Ross said:

unless you've had some previous trauma to BOTH knees (you say you get crepitus in both knees....) i'm going to all but rule out degenerative joint disease / osteoarthritis. that would be very young to get it without repeated stress to both those joints.

No previous trauma that I can think of.

E21_Ross said:

heres to hoping it's not something like CPPD joking that's rare at 35

Hope not, just googled it...

E21_Ross said:

would be interesting to hear the x-ray results though. are you sure they are for the knees and not the toe? obviously not done a physical exam but can't see the need for x-ray at the moment unless the GP found more in the physical?

keep up posted.

Edited by E21_Ross on Saturday 10th April 20:21

Definitely for the knees - that's what they pointed the machine at! She didn't seem to worried but took more of an interest when she put her hand on my knee whilst moving it (very audible!). Surgery told me they would only get in touch if there was something they could do Nice!

Will give them a ring in the week to see if the results are in and will update thread.

I took glucosamine supplements a few years ago when it was bothering me, but gave up as it didn't seem to have any effect. Maybe I need to try it for longer - will give it another shot thanks.

[E21_Ross]

i thought you meant you were having the x-rays this thursday coming! don't worry the CPPD thing was more of a joke, it's unlikely to be an issue, certainly if you've been having the problem for years. CPPD is very common in the elderly, but doesn't always cause symptoms.

no previous trauma it's not really going to be DJD.

cheers

Edited by E21_Ross on Saturday 10th April 20:42