Joints that crack asymetrically



  • Hey everyone.

    I'm wondering if most people are like me and have some joints that crack asymetrically.

    For example I can easily crack my right ankle, making a very loud pop. I can almost never crack the left one. My right wrist I can crack almost continuously. Can't do that with my left wrist.

    Some others…I can crack something just behind my left knee, definitely not the knee itself though. However my right knee cracks much more than my left. I can also pop my right foot, some joint just below the two rightmost toes.

    My right hip makes a deep sound when I pop it, it's almost painful but afterwards it feels nice. My left hip make a very light pop.

    Oh I can also lock my left thumb fairly often, when it pops it makes quite a loud sound. But not my right thumb.

    Asymetrically yours!


  • Community Lead

    Welcome aerotive,

    Interesting post. Personally, I have never observed anything like that with my own joints. Both sides seem to crack equally well for me.

    However, I remember that for some joints it was my right side which cracked / asked to be cracked first, followed by my left side a little later. My knees were like that. But after both joints had joined the fray there wasn't much difference anymore for any joint pair.

    Except for your thumb it seems to be always your ride side which cracks easier.
    Are you left or right handed? Do you do any physical excersises which put strain mostly on your right or left body half? :roll:

    You said you have some joints that crack asymetrically. Do you have other joints which do crack symmetrically? You did not yet mention your shoulder joints for example.

    Very strange indeed.

    Does anyone else experience something like this, besides aerotive to shed some more light on this?



  • Also I have some bone or something behind my left knee that pops once or so a day, usually in the morning.

    But I certainly do agree that I have more joints that crack on my right.

    I'm right-handed. I walk several times a week, and I do various stretching exercises, plus some light weightlifting. But nome of those stress my right more than my left side.



  • I find that my whole back and hip is asymmetrical for cracking.

    They used to be fairly even, twisting one way and then the other would produce a string of clicks down each side of my back, sometimes as far as my sacrum and hips. Now my right side always cracks very easily (normally in the hip or lumbar area) whilst I can almost never crack my left side.

    I think I may have caused some laxity in the joints of the right lower back and hip - when I try to twist left it feels like I don't have enough leverage to crack the left side joints. Sometimes when I twist left, the right side joint will crack!

    This worries me a little and I've been trying to stop cracking these joints, however it's currently so easy to crack my right lower back and hip that just twisting towards someone or turning over in bed can cause the joints to crack!



  • Neck. For some reason I get more cracks out of the left side of my neck (activated by twisting head to the right) than the right side.



  • I can only crack my left elbow, although I don't have much control over it; the right one doesn't crack at all.



  • Let's see:
    My neck only cracks on the right;
    My right knuckles and thumb crack more often than my left;
    My left shoulder is far louder than my right;
    and my right toes crack better.



  • Hmmmm…....
    My left jaw cracks louder & more often than my right, my left knuckles make a cooler sound, my right ankle can crack 8-12 times in a row,
    and my right toes make a better crack.



  • WoW
    who would have thunk.



  • thunk :?

    thought but why change it?



  • Why Not?



  • @aerotive:

    Hey everyone.

    I'm wondering if most people are like me and have some joints that crack asymetrically.

    For example I can easily crack my right ankle, making a very loud pop. I can almost never crack the left one. My right wrist I can crack almost continuously. Can't do that with my left wrist.

    Some others…I can crack something just behind my left knee, definitely not the knee itself though. However my right knee cracks much more than my left. I can also pop my right foot, some joint just below the two rightmost toes.

    My right hip makes a deep sound when I pop it, it's almost painful but afterwards it feels nice. My left hip make a very light pop.

    Oh I can also lock my left thumb fairly often, when it pops it makes quite a loud sound. But not my right thumb.

    Asymetrically yours!

    hey, i used to be like you 😎
    my big toe on my right foot always cracked, but never on my left. after i went to a specialist though he sort of "played" with my left big toe, and now that clicks too!
    not sure if thats good or bad lol



  • Well the first joints on my fingers don't all crack yet but that might be because i haven't tried for long.

    It seems i stopped cracking the main knuckle lol and starting something else.


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