Expert: Ken Alan - 1/23/2006

Question
Hi!  I have an annoying popping/clicking in my hip during certain motions. It is almost always reproducible by doing the following: Lie on my back with both legs straight and laying on the floor; then raise my right leg into the air while also bending it at the knee; then lower the leg while straightening the knee. When the foot gets to about 8 - 12 inches from the floor, I hear and FEEL a significant POP in or around the hip joint.  The left leg NEVER does it -- only the right. Straight leg lifts sometimes cause the pop, but not as reliably as when the knee has been bent and is straightening.
This has been happening for years, but it has recently become a problem because I have started doing some Pilates workouts for core strengthening and flexibility. Several of the Pilates moves, like the "cross-over crunches" (crunches with a bicycling motion in the legs and crossing the elbow to the opposite knee) elicit the pop. I fear that this may do damage. Do I need to stretch something? or see a chiropractor?

Answer
Hi,

Good question. You should be concerned if and when there is pain associated with the noise.  The clicking/popping itself does not definetely signal that damage is being done or that it will lead to an injury in the future. It might, or it might not.  Some people have joints that cause a symphony of sounds when they move.  This is common for quite a few people.

The clicking sound is likely a tendon, cartiledge, or connective tissue that crossses the joint, and it gets snapped back and forth as you flex and extend your right hip.

Stretching regularly has many benefits, and you might already stretch in your Piltates workouts.  Stretching though, may or may not affect the clicking noise in your hip.

Don't worry about the sound. Get checked out by a orthopedic specialist if you have pain associated with the sound. Your biggest concern is not drawing attention to yourself when your hip decides to sound off again.

Hope this helps.