Knee is making crunching noise . . .

k2mills

Cathlete
My left knee makes a terrible, ratcheting sound when climbing steps. I don't notice it during walking, and it doesn't cause me pain, but I can hardly stand the sound of it when I go up steps. I just wondered if it is a sign of arthritis, or if I should get it checked out. My mother seems to think it is just a sign of aging, but I don't want to cause any damage that may take me out of commission. Any similar experiences or advice?
 
Hi K2mills,
Both my knees have been "crunchy" for some time (I am 41). At the end of last year, I went to see an Orthopedist about my knees (I was having some pain in my left knee) and had an MRI done and found out I have stage 3 arthritis in my knees. The crunchy sound is caused by the degenerating cartilage in the knee joint. I was told that there is nothing that can be done about the crunchy sound. I now have a brace that I wear on my left knee when I exercise to prevent pain (which works wonderfully). The doc said to keep exercising (high impact is o.k.) as that is the best way to keep the joints working. He also told me that supplements with chondroitin will generally NOT help much. So, I have learned to live with crunchy knees.
 

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