Noisy knees may be an early sign of arthritis

If your knees creak and pop, the noises could be an indi cator of early arthritis, even if the joint does not hurt, according to one of the first long-term studies of the association between noisy knees and joint disease.The study, however, add ed that not every creaky knee is diseased, making it important to try to discern what your particular knee noises may mean. Tens of millions of people over the age of 40 report that they at least occasionally hear noises in their knees, a condition that in medical circles goes by the ominous name of crepitus.

The upshot is that the exact nature of the relationship between knee noises and knee health remains enigmatic, says Grace Lo, an assistant professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and it still is not clear what produces those sounds in the joint.

But in general, popping and creaking merit an appointment with your physi cian, she says, since there was clearly an association in this study between the acoustics of crepitus and the silent, even insidious start of arthritis, which was visible on an X-ray but not yet causing someone pain.And having a creaky knee evaluated by your doctor also can provide peace of mind, Lo says.