My cracking joints make me sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies
As someone with EDS, I'm always snapping, crackling, and popping
Some days my body sounds like Rice Krispies that have just had cold milk poured over them. Every time I move I snap, crackle, and pop! With my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), there are times when I can’t move without making noise — though sometimes that’s from me groaning as I get my stiff body moving, rather than my joints cracking.
I often feel like my joints crunch and pop more than other people’s do, but I don’t know if that’s actually true. You can’t really hear other people’s knees pop or ankles crunch, but I certainly hear my own, and it seems to happen all day long. I often crack my knuckles, roll my neck, stretch my back, rotate my ankles and shoulders, and stretch my wrists, and there’s usually a sound involved.
I do a lot with my hands on any given day, from typing at work to cleaning stalls and carrying water buckets on the farm where I live. Especially since having my right ring finger surgically repaired a few years ago, my hands and fingers often get tight. I’ll stretch each finger individually and then stretch my hands. After they’ve loosened up a bit, moving them usually involves a series of pops.
In addition, my neck and shoulders seem to crunch endlessly. Every time I roll my neck to stretch it, it makes a funky sound. Even if I do it several times in a row, it will crack every time. The same thing happens with my shoulder. If I do windmills with my arms to stretch and loosen them, my damaged right one will pop with every single revolution. My ankles are the last frequent flyer of the group. Round and round they go, snap, crackle, pop! The right one is far worse than the left, but they both crack with every rotation.
When I think about it, my injured joints seem to be the ones that make the most noise. For whatever reason, those injuries have mostly occurred on my right side, so that’s where the popping tends to happen. That’s what makes me think the excessive joint cracking is an EDS thing. If it happened to everyone, wouldn’t all my joints do it? It’s not painful, but it is odd, and it seems to happen more as I get older.
Does anyone else ever feel like they’re a bowl of cereal? If so, does the joint cracking happen more at sites of former injuries? I’m curious if others with EDS experience the same thing.
Note: Ehlers-Danlos News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Ehlers-Danlos News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Ehlers-Danlos.
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