Noisy Knees

Does your dog have noisy knees?  Or do you?  Do you notice some popping, snapping, catching, clicking, crunching, grinding, grating or clunking at the knee?  It may be an issue or may not,  Here we dive into the most common causes of knee noise.

In order to differentiate between physiological and pathological causes of knee noise, the presence of swelling and pain in the knee joint is often associated with pathological causes.  A loud ‘Pop’ at the time of injury is often associated with ligament and/or meniscal tearing. Crepitus, in the absence of any history of injury, may indicate cartilage lesions in osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis.

Physiological noise, on the other hand, varies and includes, the bursting of tiny bubbles in the synovial fluid, snapping ligaments, hypermobile meniscus.  These are not necessarily something to be concerned about.

Most importantly, If there is no pathological condition, there is no need to be concerned about the noise.

In all cases, it’s important to check with your local vet or animal physiotherapists if you notice knee noise associated with pain, being lameness, or reluctance to walk/ participate in normal daily activities.