Here’s the Real Reason Our Joints Crackle When We Wake Up in the Morning—And It’s Not (Always) About Age
One weird part of getting older is that at some point, it starts to take a little more effort to get going in the morning —and not just because we could probably use stand to hit the snooze button one more time. Our morning movements might become a little slower, a little more deliberate and even a little louder. Yep, that’s your ankles, knuckles, knees and necks crackling like a campfire. Now, before you think I just called you ancient , some people just naturally have joints that crack as they move. My editor, for example, swears she was simply born that way and could never sneak up on her parents as a child, especially when walking down the stairs first thing in the morning. So is this crackling OK, or is it a cause for concern? And why does it generally become more pronounced as we age? I spoke with Pamela Mehta, MD, a California-based orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician, to find out. Read on to learn the cause of those snaps, crackles and pops, as wel...