Ask Dr. H | Are cracking joints a sign of age?

Question: I'm only 48 years old, but when I get out of bed in the morning, all my joints make a painless cracking sound. This also happens when I'm in one position for any length of time. Is this common with any known disease?

Answer: I'll bet many readers' bones make those same painless cracking sounds first thing in the morning. Fortunately, it doesn't necessarily mean you have arthritis or bone problems. And it has nothing to do with age. It's just the harmless sound of stiff ligaments moving over the surface of bone.

The noise created by "cracking" your knuckles is related. In that case, you are pushing the knuckle joint out of or back into its original position. Displaced nitrogen gas escapes from the joint space with the characteristic cracking sound. While this might seem harmless enough, you actually are pushing the joint beyond its normal range of motion.

Unlike the harmless noise you hear when getting out of bed, cracking your knuckles puts extra wear and tear on the ligaments (connecting one bone to another) and the tendons (connecting muscles to bone) that hold a joint together. Years of pushing a joint beyond its normal range of motion may leave it stretched and weakened - like a rubber band that has been stretched to its limit over and over again. The joint surfaces (cartilage) might wear out, eventually leading to the swelling and pain of arthritis.

In other words, Mom was right - it is a bad idea to crack your knuckles.