Clicking and Popping

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this as a lyme symptom...Joints in your body, particularity knees although I had it big time in my jaw as well, making that popping and clicking sound when you move them?

Feels like everything is going to snap. My regular doctor just looked at me puzzled when I told her about this.

I do. When I have Lyme, it's at it's worst, with practically every single joint popping most every time I move after being still for even a short amount of time.

This is the first time I've had Bart and Babs without Lyme though, and I have found that my joints still are pretty upset with things. Mainly my hands, wrists, hips, knees and feet - which is a weird combination of large and small joints.

I've not had any doc, other than a LLMD, that didn't give me that look like I was suddenly growing a third eye in the middle of my forehead when I've tried to explain this.

evianangel said...
Traveler how did you find out you had Bart and Babs without lyme, did you get a test done? How does that happen? Is it because you treated your Lyme and the co-infections were left over?

I was reinfected with Bart and Babs back when I was reinfected with Lyme in 2014, only they were asymptomatic infections until recently.

evianangel said...
Suzee it seems the jaw is commonly affected when it comes to Lyme hey? Hmm I wonder why. When it first hit me I was getting almost like a lock jaw thing happening where I couldn't open my mouth all the way, then I would try really hard and it would pop loudly. I had the chiropractor adjust my jaw for me.

Come to think of it, my jaw locking was my absolute first symptom in November, before even my joint pain. I think I got bit in October.

You might find this conversation that took place here interesting: www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3500923&p=1

As I was growing up with these infections, I realized that many of my joints would crack/pop and could be heard clearly by others on the other side of the room, so I would often wait anytime I had control over it until I was alone to allow things to pop. Many times it was painful when they popped, but the pain would subside soon enough usually and then leave. If I didn't pop them or allow them to pop, they would simply stop working/lock up! That's a bit awkward. LOL!

Evianangel, if had only known then that it was lyme would have saved so much unnecessary dental work and fillings and extractions .... my jaw, head, eyes, sinuses and ears have been areas where I have suffered the most. Like you the onset of the jaw problem was like a lock jaw type of problem.

"I can stretch out my shoulders , stick out my chest like a gorilla and crack my sternum ! " I'm sooo jealous!!! Nothing wants to crack much any more in my torso, even when a professional is helping.

And I've determined this is my main issue: "And other times it is uneven tension in the joint from uneven muscle/tendon tension pulling on the joint."

I've still got a ways to go before I get enough of those layers of tight fascia to release. I may be in the same boat as you.Thankfully, during gardening season though, I seem to work a lot of this out - and that is just about to start here!! YAY!!

We installed "grab bars" when my elderly FIL moved in with us and I use them. I lean up against them (gently!!) when I need a quick bit of help during the day, then in the evening, I'll lay on the floor with a tennis ball in those tight spots.

Astroman (I believe) once posted about a trigger point release bar and it's going on my Christmas wish list this year!! I'm tired of making due with these other ways.

I bumped up my fascia release thread, there are several if you goggle fascia and/ trigger points in the upper right search bar.

I cant help but mention this stuff, its good for anyone with body pain to learn- you can use it the rest of your life, even to avoid future body pain.

When chiropractic does not last in some people, all of this IS the reason why.

There are a variety of tools to release small concentrated muscle trigger point knots using sustained pressure to "melt" the knot.

www.theracane.com/ - this help for the back, you need to get creative for its potential.

The fascia is a thin fibrous netting that covers over all the muscles, which tightens up in some people from many reasons, feeling like your wearing a "straight jacket" almost. This can create refereed pain as well. This is more difficult to actually release and can take a long time to last - its a project in itself. More effective tools are the 3 foot foam rollers, denser the better. Rolling on them increases circulation in the fascia, then you can lay on the more noticeable areas with things like Lacross balls, soft balls, golf balls ect. , to melt away tight areas. Tennis balls generally collapse with body weight of adults.

I can even release the psoas- its not easy at all, and can be painfull at first.. The side abdominal fascia needs releasing first to melt down into the psoas. This is done with a 4" inflatable ball, @ medium psi. This can take up to 1/2 hour. I dont need to do this much lately - a good sign.

It's all in your head, like the tinnitus,the cold night sweats, sleeping only a couple of hours at a time, the tremors, the nausea, the joint pain, the tops of your feet turning orange, your blase' attitude toward everything, your inability to find the right word, etc. So buck up, and get over yourself. lol. A bug bite can turn your life a curve down a dark rabbit hole. My knees, ankles, and hips can pop so loud people turn an say "What was that"

Clicking and popping is something the general population also has, but, some lymies have more of it.

There are several possibilities or combinations for many symptoms. This included.

Nitrogen build up in the joints (chemical) and / or increased body tension , which is a mechanical structural cause.

SOME nitrogen in skeletal joints is normal, vegetarians can also crack their joints (or have them cracked), so its not only about protein from meat.

The noise being aside, I would focus on weather or not said joints, or ones whole body (the fascia) has pain or stiffness. As a general rule a, a more limber body also makes less noise. Lyme and co, can make some people very stiff, and rigid. If your body is stiff, issues will arise. The body sure is complicated, fixing it is too.

The point being, most of the population has joint popping. Those with Lyme and company can have more than those without Lyme and it can start or at least first be noticed when a person has Lyme and company. While it can be painful at time for a joint to pop, it's not necessarily a sign of damage.

If you are experiencing a lot of tight muscles, then it might be very helpful to get regular massages (do be aware that this can cause a herx though), or to use something like Astroman has kindly told us about.

The exact cause of the joint popping is interesting, but by far not the big concern here, right gentlemen?

GH answered that above: "Vegetarians eat nitrogen just like omnivores but not nearly as much. The nitrogen in everyone's joints comes from nitric oxide, not animal protein."

You're right Trav.

I never clicked or popped until I had Lyme.

Regular people experience inflammation just like Lyme patients, the only difference is the amount of inflammation and the duration. Lyme was the straw that broke my camel's back.

Joint issues and muscle issues are two completely different issues. Astroman is the authority on massage and A.R.T. I only know what I've studied.

I have clicking and it's not like cracking a knuckle. In my knees in the morning getting out of bed there is a specific painful spot until it pops won't happen again till the next morning. Also when walking up stairs, every step I take with my left leg there is 3 audible clicks at the same spot. Feels more like an inflamed tendon stuck on a bone spur but I guess it could be gas.