Knees that creak and pop not always pre-arthritic

New York

IF YOUR knees creak and pop, the noises could be an indicator of early arthritis, even if the joint does not hurt, according to one of the first long-term studies of the association between noisy knees and joint disease.

But not every creaky knee is diseased, the study also finds, making it important to try to discern what your particular knee noises may mean.

For many of us, developing grinding, popping or creaking sounds in our knees can seem almost like a rite of passage into middle age. Tens of millions of people over the age of 40 report that they at least occasionally hear noises in their knees, a condition that in medical circles goes by the ominous name of "crepitus".

Researchers and clinicians have long been undecided about whether the onset of knee crepitus also signals the beginnings of arthritis, with its slow but relentless deterioration of cartilage and bones, or if the noises are annoying but otherwi…