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Have you ever noticed your knees making some noise when you move into a deep squat (malasana) or other flexed-knee positions in yoga? Maybe a cracking, popping, or grinding sound?

This phenomenon, known as knee crepitus, is surprisingly common in the yoga world. If you’ve ever experienced it, you might have wondered: Is this something to worry about? Is my knee falling apart?

The good news is that knee crepitus is often harmless, but there's a lot more going on beneath the surface.

A brand-new systematic review published in British Journal of Sports Medicine took a deep dive into this topic, investigating how often knee crepitus happens and whether it’s linked to any structural changes in the knee (Couch et al., 2025). And as fellow yoga body geeks 🤓, we should absolutely know about this research!

Let’s break it down.

What is Knee Crepitus?

Knee crepitus is a fancy term for the sounds that can come from your knee joint during movement—think cracking, popping, or grinding. It’s especially noticeable during knee flexion-focused poses like malasana (deep squat), utkatasana (chair pose), and our warrior poses and lunges in yoga. But what causes it?

While the exact cause of knee crepitus isn’t fully understood, here are a few common explanations:

Air bubbles collapsing: It’s kind of like cracking your knuckles—tiny air bubbles within the joint may collapse when you move, creating that popping sound.
Tendons or soft tissues moving over bony structures: As your muscles and tendons shift over bone during movement, it can create friction that makes noise.
Structural changes: Over time, the knee joint can undergo changes like cartilage wear, bone growths, or other internal shifts, which might lead to sounds.

It’s important to know that, while knee crepitus can sound a bit concerning, it doesn’t always signal an injury or dysfunction.

What Did the New Study on Knee Noises Find?

This new study analyzed 103 studies with over 36,000 participants and came up with some pretty interesting findings. Here’s the scoop:

41% of the general population experiences knee crepitus—that’s nearly half of us.
36% of pain-free, uninjured people experience knee crepitus too.
81% of people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) have knee crepitus.

So, knee crepitus is extremely common, even among people with no pain or injuries. And while it can sometimes be associated with structural changes, it doesn’t always mean there’s something wrong.

Structural Changes Don’t Always Mean Pain

Here’s something that might surprise you: Structural changes in the knee don’t always correlate with pain or dysfunction.In fact, research has shown that knee joints can have changes like cartilage wear, bone lesions, or even meniscal tears—and still function perfectly well without causing pain.

For example, one study using high-resolution MRI scans found that 97% of asymptomatic adults (yes, 97%!) had at least one abnormality in their knee joint, including meniscal tears and cartilage wear—and yet, they didn’t experience pain or movement problems (Horga et al., 2020).

This really highlights the fact that “damage” in the knee doesn’t always equate to pain or dysfunction. Our bodies are more resilient than we often give them credit for.

What Does This Mean for Yoga Practitioners and Their Noisy Knees?

So, what does all of this mean for us as yoga practitioners? If your knees make some noise during deep knee flexion poses like malasana or utkatasana, don’t panic!

Here’s what we know based on the research:

Knee noises are totally normal: Many healthy, pain-free people experience knee crepitus. It doesn’t automatically mean something’s wrong with your knee.
It’s not usually something to worry about: Even though knee crepitus can be linked to underlying structural changes, these changes often aren’t a direct cause for concern, especially when there’s no pain.
Exercise (including yoga) is good for your knees: In fact, research shows that exercise, including yoga, is one of the best ways to keep your knees healthy, even for people with knee osteoarthritis. Movement is generally a good thing!

When Should You Be Concerned About Cracking and Popping Knees?

If your knee crepitus comes with pain, swelling, or follows an injury, that’s the time to check in with a medical professional. But if your knees are simply making noise with no pain or discomfort, there’s no need to stress about it. Keep moving and practicing yoga!

If you’d like to dive deeper into knee health and the role of movement in managing conditions like osteoarthritis, check out Osteoarthritis & Movement: Facts vs. Fiction by Magnus Ringberg, a guest post on the blog by our expert in sports science and physiotherapy.

Have you ever noticed knee crepitus in your practice? Did it ever make you worry? Let me know in the comments!

Related: Osteoarthritis & Movement: Facts vs. Fiction by sports scientist and physiotherapist Magnus Ringberg

References:

Couch, Jamon L., et al. "Noisy knees-knee crepitus prevalence and association with structural pathology: a systematic review and meta-analysis." British journal of sports medicine 59.2 (2025): 126-132.

Horga, Laura M., et al. "Prevalence of abnormal findings in 230 knees of asymptomatic adults using 3.0 T MRI." Skeletal radiology 49 (2020): 1099-1107.