Is it normal for the sacroiliac joint to crackle?!
Question: Hello,
I want to know if it is ok for the sacroiliac joint to crackle? This happened the other day when I was at my college gym. I got onto a rowing machine and the person using it before me left the handle bar up. When I was trying to reach for it, the person rowing to my left gave me a sudden hard push forward on the middle-left side of my back without saying anything, and I felt about two crackles to the left of my lower back. I don't recall ever feeling a crackle in that area, after doing some research I found out that there is only one pair of joints on either side of the lower back after the lumbar spine and they are the sacroiliac joints. I've heard that they can lock out, cause the pelvis/hip to misalign, and a whole host of problems after they've had pressure like that stretch exerted on them. Is it ok for them to crackle? Is there any way to know that the joint hasn't been moved in a way that will cause problems later on? I didn't feel pain at the time it happened.
Answers: Hello,
I want to know if it is ok for the sacroiliac joint to crackle? This happened the other day when I was at my college gym. I got onto a rowing machine and the person using it before me left the handle bar up. When I was trying to reach for it, the person rowing to my left gave me a sudden hard push forward on the middle-left side of my back without saying anything, and I felt about two crackles to the left of my lower back. I don't recall ever feeling a crackle in that area, after doing some research I found out that there is only one pair of joints on either side of the lower back after the lumbar spine and they are the sacroiliac joints. I've heard that they can lock out, cause the pelvis/hip to misalign, and a whole host of problems after they've had pressure like that stretch exerted on them. Is it ok for them to crackle? Is there any way to know that the joint hasn't been moved in a way that will cause problems later on? I didn't feel pain at the time it happened.
If you aren't having any severe pain I would say that your joints are just fine. You could have just gotten a bruise. Many of the bones in our spine crack, just like if you crack your fingers, it is air being released from the joint. If you have more pain or are still unsure go to the doctor and have him take a look.