Suggest Treatment For Joints Pain And Arthritis

Posted on Mon, 17 Apr 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 Answered on

Tue, 16 May 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I have bone joints that pops or cracks every 5 - 15 minutes. At first it's been my thumb joints but now it's also my toe joints. It's been like this for quite some time now and I think it started happening 3 years ago. At the time I haven't paid much attention due to the fact that I thought it was minor or temporary and I don't feel any pain when I bend my thumb or toes. But now it's been aggravating me as it's been more frequent popping. I'm a little worried I might be coming down with something chronic like arthritis or something. I wanted to know if this should be checked out or if it's nothing that serious that can be fixed with some kind of exercise or medication.

Answered by Dr. V. N. S. Parinam (41 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
No long term effects found on various studies

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

By now you should have gone through various articles about popping joints.
The fact is when you try to crack joints, the bones are stretched apart and form a bubble within the synovial fluid of the joint. The bubble breaks and gives the sound of crack.
There had been various studies and none of them were able to prove a long term effects on these joints that are constantly cracked. Arthritis could be a possibility according to the theory evolved but without any supporting evidence.
You do not need to check this out. You may want to mend the behaviour if you wish to.
Absolutely no exercise and mediction is recommended when the behaviour does not harm.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Remy Koshy

Follow up: Dr. V. N. S. Parinam (7 days later)

Is there still a fix for this? Even though there's no exercise or medication required, I'm still annoyed by this clicking noise my finger, thumb, and toe joints make every 15 minutes when I bend them. I researched this before and heard it might be trigger finger, orphithititis, vitamin d deficiency, etc. But I have yet to find anything to cure this. While there is no pain from this, I still want it to stop making noise like this as I don't think its normal. Cracking knuckles is normal but not this. I also believe if I don't get this checked sooner, when I get older and age, it might do cause more problems where I have problems bending my thumb and toes.

Answered by Dr. V. N. S. Parinam (10 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Ultrasound of joint

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I think the next thing you do is see an Orthopedic surgeon and order for Ultrasound of the joint. Additionally the ultra sound waves can act as therapy and produce enough warm to heal the joints.
If you really have a problem the Orthopedic surgeon can detect and take measures to treat it. If not at least the ultrasonic massage therapy helps healing.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar