It’s common to hear popping, clicking, or snapping sounds coming from your hip joint when you walk, get up from a chair, or move your leg in certain ways. This noisy joint often causes no pain or problems, but it can be annoying or concerning when it happens frequently. Understanding why your hips pop can help you determine if it’s a harmless quirk or a sign of a more serious issue.
What Causes the Popping Sound?
Popping hips are usually caused by gas bubbles forming in the fluid inside your hip joint capsule. This fluid, called synovial fluid, acts as a lubricant and shock absorber for the hip joint. When you move your leg, the joint surfaces pull apart slightly, forming a vacuum that sucks synovial fluid back into the negative space. This forms gas bubbles that pop when the joint surfaces come back together, creating an audible cracking or popping noise.
The technical term for this phenomenon is cavitation. It occurs in other synovial joints as well, like knuckles, knees, elbows, and ankles. Cavitation is more likely to happen if there is less synovial fluid present or if the fluid is drier and stickier. Having more space between the ball and socket joint surfaces, such as with hip joint hypermobility or impingement, also increases the chances of cavitation occurring.
When Popping Hips Are Harmless
For most people, these popping or cracking hips are completely harmless and simply an annoyance. Often, the cavitation happens once as the joint surfaces glide over each other and then stops until the next leg movement. The popping doesn’t cause any pain during or after, and the hips have a normal range of motion.
Popping that happens occasionally with no other symptoms is usually nothing to worry about. It may happen more frequently as you age due to changes in the synovial fluid. Staying active and maintaining muscle strength around the hips can help reduce unnecessary joint motion and keep popping to a minimum.
When to See a Doctor
While occasional hip popping is usually innocent, some characteristics warrant medical attention:
- The popping is accompanied by pain in the hip
- You feel catching, locking up, or limited range of motion in the hip
- The hip joint feels unstable when bearing weight
- Swelling or signs of inflammation around the hip joint
- The popping sound is loud, happens frequently, and feels like the hip is grinding
- You have muscle weakness around the hips
These symptoms may indicate an underlying problem within the hip joint. Common culprits include:
Arthritis
Osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis can cause joint damage that leads to painful popping, grating sensations, and loss of mobility. Arthritis also reduces synovial fluid levels, increasing cavitation.
Labral Tears
The labrum is a cartilage rim around the hip socket that provides stability. Tears in this cartilage cause pain, clicking, locking, and a catching feeling when moving the hip. Labral tears are common in athletes.
Femoroacetabular Impingement
FAI occurs when the femur bone rubs abnormally against the hip socket. This can happen from bone overgrowth or misshaped bones. FAI leads to premature joint damage and causes painful clicking or snapping with hip motion.
Loose Bodies
Floating fragments of cartilage or bone inside the hip joint, called loose bodies, can get caught between the ball and socket. This causes a loud, painful popping sensation that feels like the joint is locking up.
Dislocated Hip
A hip that partially dislocates with certain movements may produce a loud popping or snapping sound. This is usually accompanied by severe pain and difficulty bearing weight on the leg. Prompt medical treatment is needed.
Seeking a Medical Diagnosis
If your noisy hips worry you or cause pain/dysfunction, see your doctor for an evaluation. They will assess your symptoms, perform a physical examination of your hip joint mobility and surrounding muscles, and order imaging tests as needed.
X-rays can detect bone spurs, loose fragments, or joint space narrowing from arthritis. MRI scans provide detailed views of soft tissues like cartilage, ligaments, and tendons to identify labral tears, impingement, and other joint problems.
Once the cause is diagnosed, appropriate treatment can help manage painful symptoms and improve function. This may include rest and activity modification, physical therapy, medications, joint injections, or surgery for more severe cases.
Home Remedies for Popping Hips
While waiting for your doctor’s appointment or in conjunction with medical treatment, try these tips to help reduce annoying hip popping:
Stay Active
Regular exercise keeps joints mobile and muscles surrounding the hip strong. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. Walking, swimming, and low-impact strength training are excellent options.
Stretch the Hips
Gentle stretches keep muscles flexible and prevent tightness that can contribute to popping. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times per side.
| Stretch | How to Do It |
|---|---|
| Figure four | Cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Gently press the crossed knee outward. |
| Seated rotation | Sit with knees bent. Rotate legs open and closed. |
| Hip flexor | In lunge position, squeeze glutes and tilt hips forward. |
| Child’s pose | Kneel, sit back on feet, walk hands forward, let hips sink down. |
Apply Heat
Warming up the hip area prior to activity can help relax muscles and make the joint glide more smoothly. Use a heating pad, warm compress, or take a warm bath.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking plenty of water keeps synovial fluid balanced and prevents sticky, dehydrated joints that are prone to popping.
Watch Your Weight
Excess weight puts more pressure on the hip joint, making it more likely to pop. Maintain a healthy weight to take strain off your hips.
Consider Supplements
Glucosamine, chondroitin, omega-3s, and turmeric may support joint health and lubrication. Talk to your doctor before starting.
When to Seek Physical Therapy
A physical therapist can provide hip joint mobilization techniques and prescribe targeted stretches and exercises. This helps retrain optimal hip motion and strengthens surrounding musculature for added stability.
See a physical therapist if you have limited hip mobility, muscle weakness, frequent popping that won’t go away, or clicking that causes pain. Your doctor can provide a therapy referral.
Should Popping Hips Be Popped Back In Place?
You may be tempted to try to crack or pop a noisy hip joint in hopes of realigning it or stopping the noise. However, this is not recommended.
Forcibly manipulating the hip to make it pop carries risks of injury and dislocation. The cavitation noise itself does not indicate the joint is out of place. Unless the hip is obviously dislocated, with severe pain and inability to bear weight, popping it is unnecessary and potentially harmful.
When to Consider Hip Replacement Surgery
For severe, bone-on-bone arthritis that hasn’t improved with other therapies, a total hip replacement may be warranted. This surgery removes damaged sections of the hip joint and replaces them with artificial components. Recovery involves months of physical therapy.
Hip replacement surgery reliably reduces pain and restores function in people with end-stage hip arthritis. Over 90% of implants last 25 years or longer before potentially needing revised. It’s a major procedure reserved for severe cases that impact quality of life.
Long-Term Outlook for Popping Hips
Occasional hip popping caused by harmless cavitation should not impact the joint long-term. The noises may come and go but are not dangerous. Focus on staying active and maintaining a healthy weight.
However, underlying conditions like impingement and tears can worsen over time if left untreated. Seeking appropriate medical care helps halt progressive damage and improve the prognosis. Physical therapy also teaches you how to properly use your hip to delay further issues.
With proper self-care and treatment as needed, popping hips should not limit your mobility or quality of life. While annoying, typical cavitation noises are just a quirk of the hip joint architecture.
When to Seek a Second Opinion
It’s reasonable to get a second opinion if:
- Your doctor is unable to determine the cause of frequent, painful popping
- Treatments such as rest, therapy, or injections do not improve the symptoms
- You are told you need major surgery but want another consultation first
- One specialist recommends surgery and another does not
- You have developed stiffness, limping, or loss of hip function that worsens over weeks/months
- You feel your condition is not improving as expected with the current treatment plan
Seeing an orthopedic hip specialist or sports medicine doctor may provide more clinical expertise. They may order additional tests or suggest alternative therapies. Getting a second opinion gives you added peace of mind about your diagnosis and treatment options.
Preventing Hip Popping
While some degree of hip popping is normal and unavoidable, you can take proactive steps to prevent excessive popping:
- Maintain a healthy weight to reduce joint strain
- Build hip strength and flexibility through exercise
- Warm up and stretch the hips before strenuous activity
- Use proper form and technique when exercising
- Listen to your body and avoid movements that cause painful popping
- Stay hydrated to promote fluid joint lubrication
- Treat any injuries or joint pain promptly
- Use cushioned shoes with good arch support
- Don’t crack your own hips or have someone else do it
Making lifestyle adjustments to support overall joint health will help keep your hips stable and less prone to problematic popping.
When to Stop Popping Your Own Hips
Intentionally cracking your own hips, lower back, or other joints may feel satisfying at first. But regularly popping your own joints is not recommended. Here’s when to stop:
- It causes any pain during or afterwards
- You have an injury, arthritis, or loose bodies in the joint
- The joint pops very frequently throughout the day
- You feel dependent on cracking for temporary relief or relaxation
- You are hypermobile and joints already move beyond the normal range
- You hear grinding, crunching, or popping that feels rough or gritty
- It disturbs people around you
- You experience numbness, tingling, or nerve issues after cracking
Forcing joints can damage cartilage and associated tissues over time. Work on strengthening muscles around the joint and improving posture instead. See a physical therapist if needed to retrain optimal use.
Conclusion
Popping, clicking hips are usually the result of harmless cavitation of gases within the fluid of the hip joint and not a cause for concern. Occasional popping without pain or loss of function is normal and does not require treatment. However, frequent popping accompanied by pain or changes in mobility warrants medical evaluation to determine if an underlying condition is present. With proper self-care and prompt treatment of any injuries or arthritic changes, popping hips should not limit activity or mobility long-term.