• Question: why is it that it i am sitting crossed legged and then move my right leg, sometimes it clicks really loudly?

    Asked by cheesepuffqueen to Kirsty on 19 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Kirsty Ross

      Kirsty Ross answered on 19 Jun 2012:


      Clicking sounds can come from many joints in the body. There are several theories as to why this happens:

      1) Cavitation-this is when small areas of partial vacuum form and then rapidly collapse, causing a clicking sound. This is the most likely answer
      2) rapid stretching of ligaments
      3) within joint adhesions being broken

      There is some evidence that being double jointed (or hyperflexible) can increase joint clicking. There is no evidence that clicking your knuckles leads to arthritis. Medical doctor Donald Unger cracked the knuckles of his left hand every day for more than sixty years, but he did not crack the knuckles of his right hand. No arthritis or other ailments formed in either hand, and he was awarded 2009’s Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine

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