If you’ve ever popped or cracked your joints — by accident or on purpose — you’re not alone. There’s even a medical name for that crackling, clicking or popping sound your bones make: crepitus.

Joint sounds are typically harmless but pain accompanying the noise may signal cartilage wear starting in your thirties.

Popping joints are common. Some researchers used to think the popping sound was an air bubble between collapsing bones, while others believed the sound came from the recoil of muscle ligaments.

Joints emit a variety of noises, including popping, snapping, catching, clicking, grinding, grating, and clunking. The technical term for these noises is “crepitus”, from the Latin “to rattle”. People ...

Popping, clicking, rattling—these sounds from our joints can be unsettling, but are they cause for concern? Orthopedic specialist Chris Gee, MD, demystifies these auditory oddities, highlighting when ...

Neck crepitus refers to clicking, cracking, popping, and crunching sounds in your neck when moving your head. Popping at the ...

Raymond Brodeur in the Ergonomics Research Laboratory at Michigan State University responds: To understand what happens when you "crack" your knuckles, or any other joint, first you need a little ...

Doctors refer to the cracking or popping of joints, like the shoulders, as crepitus. Though crepitus happens often, the reason that joints pop is not always clear. Cracking, clicking, and popping ...

If your joints make a popping noise, you're probably wondering what it is - and whether it's dangerous. But, did you know there's an actual medical term for it? Believe it or not, cracking joints is ...

Your body has millions of parts working together every second of every day. In this series, Dr. Jen Caudle, a board-certified family medicine physician and an associate professor at Rowan University ...