Vegan Talk Forums

AndyBa · Lord of the posts Joined: 27 May 2001 Posts: 670

I was concerned about my joints cracking for some time.
I heard a lot of people telling me that I have salts deposited in my joints.. others told me that my joints lack some substance that isn't present in my vegan diet.

So I made a small research... it turns out that joint cracking isn't necessary something bad.

Here are the possible causes of joint cracking:
1. cavitation within the joint – small cavities of partial vacuum form in the fluid then rapidly collapse, producing a sharp sound (hypothesis in a medical journal)
2. the sudden stretching of ligaments
3. release of gas from the joints being adjusted (this applies to the popping that can occur in any joint such as during chiropractic manipulation)
4. adhesions being broken, which simply means that as two cartilage surfaces are pressed together, they form adhesions, and when the joints are separated this makes the popping or cracking sound.

So does joint cracking depend on diet? I don't know.. probably not.
_________________
Andy`Ba

The human body has no more need for cows' milk than it does for dogs' milk, horses' milk, or giraffes' milk. ~Michael Klaper, M.D., author of Vegan Nutrition: Pure & Simple

BigBecka · Animal defender Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 415

Hey Andy

I had problems with my joints for years - my mother gave me cod liver oil (YUCK!

) for it when I was a child/teen, which seemed to help a little. Recently they started cracking again, so I started taking a vegan omega oil blend (a mix of pumpkin oil, evening primrose oil, flax oil, etc.)in January, and that's helped a lot (aswell as generally feeling healthier!)

I'm not sure why oil helps your joints... I can't find any scientific evidence, though a few sources say that the omega-3 and vitamin D in cod liver oil may reduce joint swelling and pain (just not the root cause!).

My mother also uses glucosomine sulphite: a chiropractor recommended it to her after she hurt her back (her back and shoulders were stiff and clicking). I don't think glucosomine is vegan (the packet says it is not suitable for people with shellfish allergies).

It's comforting to know that the cracking isn't necessarily bad - I've heard a lot of people say it will lead to arthritus.

CNN suggests that maintaining a healthy weight, varying your exercise, including weight bearing exercise in your regime, and icing your joints after exercise will prevent wear and tear on your joints. http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/27/CL.joint.health/index.html

Of course, I'm no expert

just a few thoughts.