Clicking knee

[HamishPMR]

Can anyone advise me on my clicking knee, not all the time and not too painful. Could this be due to being on prednisolone for a year tapering down now to 3.25mg daily. I have been taking 70mg alendronic ac weekly. When I have my half hour each morning on an exercise bike there is no problem then go up a few stairs and it starts again. I know this is trivial in comparison of some of our fellow sufferers but I have found the variety of posts most helpful since Finding HealthUnlocked.

[Mary63]

I would be very surprised if it is anything to do with PMR or pred. If it was bilateral in effect then I know some people have knee problems related to PMR.

As it is one sided I would suggest you see a physio or osteopath who will assess and likely give you exercises to strengthen up quads to stabilise the knee/kneecap. And massage to sort out tight muscles which may also be affecting things

In my younger days I had a lot of knee probs which always responded to osteopath and specific exercises.

Fast forward to 2019 and I needed a total knee replacement but that was 30 years later.

Good luck!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I have had a clicking knee - nothing to do with pred (been on it for 10 years!) but an injury. I fell and twisted that knee - mega bruises and soft tissue damage but no more. It only happened with one particular movement I think and has stopped now after about 8 weeks.

Does it hurt? If not, probably nothing to worry about:

webmd.com/pain-management/k...

buoyhealth.com/current/unde...

[HamishPMR in reply to PMRpro]

As always your analysis PMRpro always makes sense. Thank you.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Could be arthritis - ask for an X-ray to check, if not, then maybe physio would help.

Of course, it may just go away on its own accord - sometimes things do!

[Hidden]

I have joints which click...I hear the click and sometimes it’s audible to others. Both knees have clicked for years. I have OA in both, diagnosed by X-ray years back. The clicking isn’t painful and the OA is relatively stable apart from occasional flare, which generally subsides within days.

My shoulders click, audibly to others, as do both hips as I straighten from bending. But as pain or restricted mobility aren’t an associated issue, I ignore. It’s irritating, but seemingly harmless.

It can be difficult to know when to attribute significance to symptoms, but I’m on the ignore clicking. No change in frequency since I’ve been on Pred.

[Hidden]

My right knee has clicked since my thirties as has my right elbow...accident damage. I don't think many joints are perfectly silent and when I do my morning stretches it's like popcorn. The main ones are osteoarthritis in my knee, back, neck and hands. My feet are clicky but don't know what that is...age....afterall they take the strain. I would be tempted to RICE it anyway and see if you can build muscle around it..

[Hildalew]

Clicking joints and sugar, old injuries and weight.

In my life before Pred: 1) I acquired a clicking knee shortly after I tripped and that knee hit the ground first. I did nothing about it and it went away at some point without my noticing it - your post triggered the memory. I wasn't on any medication of any kind. My weight has always see-sawed a bit - maybe the click arrived when I was heavier and disappeared when I lost a little.

A kind-of connected 'thing' I had once was what I believe is called a 'trigger thumb'- a clicking joint in my right thumb. Absolutely no idea where it came from. Went to a GP who said something to the effect of 'there's no cure for that (she may have mentioned the word 'arthritis'). All I can do is give you something for the pain'. As there was no pain I thanked her and went away a bit miserable because of the thought that this could go on forever. But it didn't. At some point it just stopped. Can't remember how long it went on. And no idea if anything in my life had changed. Could have been one of the many periods when I've consciously reduced my sugar intake.

These days I have one foot (site of a broken heel) and two knees that become painful for a morning or so. So far I have been able to trace that back to a higher-than-usual sugar intake in the previous day or two.

I have had fewer of these particular incidents since I've been on pred and since I've been trying much harder to eliminate 99% of my refined sugar.

[Sandybo]

Hi HamIshPMR, I too have had a knee problem, I ended up going to our sports massage therapist and she sorted it after a few visits, she also looks after a shoulder/neck problem that flares up from time to time, I’ve not been worried about them, as has been mentioned in a reply before mine, they are not bi-lateral pains so not connected with PMR. GOOD LUCK