What disease causes cracking sounds in baby’s knees?

For little babies, they definitely like to be active. Since they learned to walk, they walk around the house every day and are very active. The knees are definitely needed when walking, so some parents find that their babies' knees make some noises when walking. Although it is not very loud, it sounds quite uncomfortable. So, why does the baby's knees make noises?

1. Dislocation

The baby's body functions are not fully developed. If parents are not careful during daily care, it is very likely to cause the baby's joints to dislocate. Dislocation causes abnormal sliding of the tendons next to the knee joint and causes popping.

2. Abnormal meniscus

For a small number of children, the meniscus is abnormally shaped, with thick edges, a depression in the center, and is closer to a ring shape, so it is called a "discoid meniscus". In this case, joint clicking is more likely to occur. The diagnosis can be confirmed through joint MRI. If it is indeed "discoid meniscus", it generally does not affect children's walking and normal activities. However, when they grow up, they need to be careful when engaging in strenuous sports such as playing football, otherwise, the meniscus may be easily damaged.

3. Ligament relaxation

The knee socket of a baby is shallow, and there is a meniscus structure inside the knee joint, which is two cartilage pads inside the joint that stabilize the joint and buffer pressure. There is ligament tissue around the meniscus to limit movement. When the knee joint flexes and extends, the meniscus will slide quickly in the joint to adapt to changes in the joint position. Because the ligaments of young babies are weak and loose, the meniscus has a large range of mobility and slides on the articular surface of the knee joint to a certain extent, resulting in a "pop" sound. As we age, the ligaments become thicker and the knee joint structure is gradually remodeled, and the joint popping sound disappears.