crunchy knees.. anyone?!?

**Dinosaur AMP** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 2:01am

So my knees have been making popping and crunching sounds for years when I squated down, but there was never pain. Then one day soon after getting back from vacation I was in the gym and started to experience pain when I would go low to shoot in for a take down. This started roughly about a year ago.

Since this started I've seen a phsyical therapist, a doctor, and some naturopathics. None of them have been able to diagnose me.. and the x-ray I managed to afford showed no signs for alarm... in fact I was told I have "perfectly healthy knees".

There was no trauma that I can recall happening that would account for the sudden knee pain. And it is endlessly frustrating how no one can give me an answer as to what is wrong. As a result of all the noises my knees make, and the pain [not much, but enough to make me worry] I've been out of the fighting gym for close to a year, and have only recently started weight lifting and working out again... a good part of which also contributes to a shoulder injury sustained as well.

I'm wondering if anyone else here has experienced the same problems with their knees and found out the problem and or a solution. People I've talked to about it already either managed to fix it with physical therapy, had surgery [which only helped short term], or are in the same boat I am and don't know what to do.

**PirateJon** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 9:43am

Sounds a bit like runners knee. See if this fits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondromalacia_patellae

**losttrak** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 1:16pm

I knew a guy that went overboard with some overboard with some plyometrics and had developed a knee pop. The next fight he was in, that kneecap got twisted around to the side of his leg. Get a second opinion. Pain is usually a good indicator of something being wrong. Talk to a sports medicine doctor and not a GP.

**danny81** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 1:45pm

i have the same problem with the crunchy knees but they never diagnose it for me. i get a little pain so i got a knee brace and it doenst hurt anymore. try it out.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 2:32pm

I sometimes get that crunchy feeling on my knees, specially when I do squats or lunges. Sometimes it hurts a little, but not much. I do feel them slow to flex, however. I always carry icy hot, and I rub the **** out of my knees until they burn, and that makes them good as new, sorta.

**Gopu** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 2:39pm

Yeah, my knees make little popping noises. I'm still starting to work out though and I don't really get any pain. I'm hoping that building up the muscles with help stablize the joint. I'm going to try it for a while and see how it goes.

**meataxe** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 3:38pm

Talk to your doctor and get an MRI. FWIW, I made a student doctor cringe from the sounds coming out of my knees.

**spirez** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 5:15pm

The crunching etc is called crepitus. Not sure what can be done about it though, i have it myself:

http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/dictionary...php/c/crepitus

http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/kneegeeks/6120062901.html

Do you supplement with fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin?

Is your knee cap out of the centre line of the knee at all? I'm guessing no seeing as the doc didn;t pick it up.

**spirez** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 5:20pm

More links:

http://symptoms.wrongdiagnosis.com/c...e-symptoms.htm

http://www.runningtimesmagazine.com/...?c=307&id=9442

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=kne...ient=firefox-a

**Tom Kagan** · Posted On: 8/15/2007 9:56pm

X-rays will typically show evidence or (a lack thereof) fractures and arthritis. You already said your X-ray was negative. That's good, but you can't even see a orthopedic knee specialist in NYC before their office's technician takes an X-ray on the spot to quickly rule this out. (Given your post, I'm guessing you're not dealing with a specialist yet and are still dealing with a GP/IM/ER doc.)

You would need to get an MRI to check for any soft tissue issues (muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage).

I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV or the internet. However, due to my own knees, I know far more about them than any sane layman should. (But I already know I'm nuts, so shut up.) Find an image of a knee from the correct angle and use a paint type program to mark it up with a careful outline of where it hurts (circleling a huge area will be pretty much useless). Upload your marked up knee picture here. Also, describe the type of pain - burning, stabbing, numbness, etc. - and also whether it's deep or surface pain.