Many of the athletes we work with express concern about their bodies making popping noises when they do certain movements. This is especially more pronounced in older athletes and in colder weather as well. This noise could be caused by ligaments stretching and releasing or by the compression of nitrogen bubbles in the spaces of the joints. Joint cracking and popping on its own does not require treatment. It is normal, and these joint sounds may also increase with age. We do find, however, that many times the noise is an alert to areas of the body that are perhaps less mobile/flexible and hence require the introduction of more and/or proper mobilization techniques or modification to the form of the athlete while they perform a certain movement (e.g., squatting, pushups, bending, pulling, etc.) In the video below one of our athletes asks about this subject as well as noticing that when he braces his core more optimally while executing the sit up movement the popping noise goes away!
- cyril8250