Crepitus and Crunching Knees - Treatments

ClarkeKent

I'm 37 and in the last 6 months have noticed the crunching noise of my knees whenever I get up and apply any pressure.

Sitting with my feet up for 20 mins+ with no movement then causes temporary pain when I get up and move and aching has become more apparant.

I believe this is called Crepitus and is early stage of arthritis in the knees

Are they any treatments such as cod over oil or other non-prescription treatments?

Should I be going to the doctors with this and will it get worse?

theoretica

Going to a physio might be worth while - if the muscles around your knees and how you use them are at all out of balance then they will put more strain on the joint and exactly the right exercises and stretches might help and stop more damage occuring. Your doctor may not offer this for a crunching noise and temporary pain, but private physiotherapists are easily available and might be worth it.

ClarkeKent

Was quite painful if left static for quite a while, had a couple of Ibuprofens. Amazing how much better they felt afterwards.

DomRavioli

Hi OP,

Crepitus is usually always there, not intermittent (as in every time you move a joint, not just when specific things happen, such as putting a joint in a specific position, or performing certain tasks as you seem to have described).

Unless you have any other symptoms of arthritis, it seems you may be reading in to this far too much, which will not help anyone, yourself included.

If you are in pain, then see your GP. They may refer for an x-ray, which will show any issues with the joint structure; physio depending on what is found on examination, or possibly MSK (muscular skeletal) clinic for further examination. None of these are things to worry about, and a very common thing in GP surgeries.

The first thing to do is see your GP and tell them you have a cracking sound (not crepitus, as you're not qualified to make that decision) in your knee or knees. They will decide what you need from there.