Shoulder Blades Crackle

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Crepitus is the medical term for a grinding, creaking, or grating sound or sensation that occurs when moving a joint. It can be produced by friction between bone and cartilage or the fractured parts of a bone when speaking in the context of bone joints. Crepitus can occur at any age, but more commonly develops as people get older.

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In the majority of cases, crepitus develops due to everyday use and changes that occur over time within the joint. It is usually a painless sensation and not of much concern from a medical standpoint. However, if crepitus is associated with pain upon moving the joint, further investigation is often warranted.

I've had severe left shoulder blade pain now for one week. I have scoliosis (an s curve. The pain in my lower right side of left shoulder blade has now transistioned to the left side of the left. Often times, multiple shoulder movements can cause clicking or popping in the shoulder. While these may be alarming to hear, most of the time, they are relatively normal joint sounds.

Sustaining a significant injury to a joint, such as the shoulder, can lead to the development of crepitus as well. In certain instances, having sensations of popping or clicking in the shoulder joints could signify a potential problem with your shoulder.

What causes shoulder crepitus?

Most of the time, the cause of crepitus can be predicted by a person’s age. If they are under the age of 30, chances are that their shoulder clicking sounds are the result of repetitive use or previous injury that has lead to loosening of the shoulder ligaments. This may be seen in young athletes that participate in contact sports. Those over the age of 55 with crepitus in the shoulder most likely suffer from degenerative changes in the joint itself.

The following are some of the common reasons for shoulder crepitus development:

Labral tears

The shoulder joint is comprised of a ball and socket which fit into each other effortlessly. A ring composed of dense fibrous tissue surrounds the shoulder joint socket called the labrum. It also serves as an attachment for the ligaments and helps the ball of the shoulder stay in position. If the labrum of the shoulder becomes torn or damaged from any sort of injury or repetitive stress it may result in the formation of crepitus. Those who have painful crepitus due to labral tears and don’t respond physical therapy may require surgery. Tears on the top of the labrum are referred to as a SLAP lesion.

Rotator cuff tears

The rotator cuff is the part of the shoulder joint that is comprised of a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint and helps to keep the head of the upper arm bone firmly within the ball socket. If the rotator cuff tendons become torn, a loose edge within the shoulder can catch on other ligaments or structures in the shoulder leading to painful crepitus. In cases of rotator cuff tendinosis, inflammation can also develop leading to further shoulder joint damage. The inflammatory process of joint is often called bursitis and may cause additional swelling leading to a clicking or popping sensation.

Shoulder dislocation

Typically occurs due to an acute injury, shoulder dislocations are a common cause of shoulder crepitus. Injury to the shoulder leads to the joint becoming looser and lead the ball of the shoulder to slide up or over the edge of the socket. When this ball falls back into place, a snapping or popping sounds can be appreciated.

Arthritis

Shoulder Blades Crackle Art

Due to loss of cartilage surrounding the joint, cushioning that previously lined it is lost. This results in the surfaces of the shoulder bones to rub against each other during movement. The bones of the shoulder are naturally rough in nature and therefore cause clicking, snapping or popping sounds when cartilage is absent.

What are the symptoms of shoulder crepitus?

Symptoms may include sounds or sensations of:

  • Crackling
  • Grinding
  • Cracking
  • Creaking
  • Grating
  • Popping

If these symptoms occur without pain on movement, it is not considered a genuine issue. However, if pain were to be present, the condition should be taken seriously with medical treatment being pursued. It is important to note that the term crepitus is not exclusive to only joints, as it may be used to describe a crackling sound heard in the lungs of certain lung disorders.

Exercises for shoulder crepitus

Performing certain gentle exercises can help preserve function, increase strength and increase the range of motion in cases of crepitus. However, these exercises should be avoided if you are experiencing pain with your shoulder movements.

The following are easy to perform exercises you can try at home today:

Pendulum warm-up

This exercise warms up the rotator cuff of the shoulder. Sit toward the front edge of a chair and brace your left hand on your right thigh. While keeping your back straight, lean forward and to the right. Let your right arm dangle at your side while you gently swing it back and forth like a pendulum. Now, fully rotate the rotator cuff by performing a full circle with your right arm. Now repeat this exercise on your left side.

Exercise #1

Hold a towel in both hands with your palms facing upward. While keeping your elbows at your sides and bent at 90 degrees, slowly move your arms to the right and then to the left. Repeat this exercise two to three times, going a little farther each time while staying in your comfort zone.

Exercise #2

Wrap a towel behind your waist like a belt, holding its ends. While keeping your elbows at your sides, bend them at 90 degrees with your palms facing each other. Now slowly move your arms to the right and then to the left as you gently stretch the rotator cuff muscles.

Exercise #3

While holding a towel horizontally at shoulder height and shoulder-width apart, keep your palms down and turn the towel vertically. Do this first in one direction, then the other. Repeat this exercise two to three times.

Exercise #4

Holding a towel in both hands with your arms in resting position, slowly bring your arms upward to shoulder height. Do this exercise while still remaining comfortable and increase the height you raise the towel a bit higher each time. Lift the towel straight over your head as long there is no pain.

Exercise #5

With your arms a little further apart than shoulder width, raise your towel over your head. Now gently lower the towel down towards the top of your head then raise it back up again. Repeat this exercise two to three times.

Related: Shoulder blade (scapula) pain causes, symptoms, treatments, and exercises

Are you having issues with your shoulders? Are they cracking, popping, snapping, grinding, clicking, or otherwise making you uncomfortable or causing you pain?

Think about how many times a day you use your shoulder joints – every time you utilise the full range of motion in your shoulder, for instance brushing your teeth. Now imagine how rough it would be if every time you used your shoulder joints if it was extremely painful.

Think you may have a potential shoulder condition or are you experiencing shoulder cracking, clicking, or popping?

Read on to learn more about when your shoulders are normal and when you should consider seeing a shoulder specialist.

What to do if you have shoulder joint pain or popping

If you’re experiencing shoulder popping, clicking, or cracking, that reality may be closer than you think. These symptoms can be indicators for more serious shoulder conditions such as shoulder impingement, tendinosis, rotator cuff tears, and labral tears, among other potential shoulder issues.

Shoulder conditions like these can be some of the most difficult and even life altering problems, and the issues that result from shoulder conditions or injuries can extend until long after you’ve healed from the initial damage.

What’s more, you can experience severe shoulder pain and popping when lifting arm that negatively affects your day to day life without actually experiencing a catastrophic injury.

Even if your shoulder keeps popping, clicking, cracking isn’t painful at the moment, these issues can be indicative of a more serious problem that can be incredibly painful and detrimental to your quality of life down the road.

After all, serious shoulder conditions may get worse over time if left untreated. And you don’t even want to imagine how tough life would be without shoulder joints that are working properly and without pain.

What are typical symptoms of shoulder popping?

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If you’re reading this you’ve probably googled something like “shoulder popping”, “shoulder clicking”, “shoulder cracking” “shoulder noise”, “popping noise in my shoulder” or something similar.

You’ve probably noticed the noises like pops, clicks, and cracks when you lift your arms when you’re working out – exercises like push-ups, bench presses, lateral raises, and similar types of movement can definitely trigger shoulder popping with no pain.

You may also notice it during everyday activity, like when you’re reaching for something above shoulder height or lifting something heavy – or simple everyday movements such as slinging your purse, backpack, or laptop bag over your shoulder.

You may even notice shoulder popping or cracking when you’re shrugging or rolling your shoulders back. Even if it doesn’t actively hurt, changes in the way your joints work can be very concerning and it’s worthwhile to get things checked out by a shoulder specialist.

And you should always get things checked out before they become a health problem in general – you never want a mild pain or a twinge like a shoulder cracking, popping, or snapping to affect your physical abilities or day to to day life.

What causes shoulder popping, cracking, and clicking?

So what causes shoulder popping, clicking, or cracking in the first place? It can be any number of things, ranging from a recent injury to minor everyday strains finally becoming too much to live with and therefore requiring medical intervention.

Shoulder Blades Click When Rolling Back

That’s because the shoulder joint is a very complex joint composed of bone, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and two types of tissues – the bursa and the synovium – which line the inside of our shoulder joint spaces.

So, when any of these elements are inflamed or injured, a grinding, popping, clicking, or cracking feeling can occurred. And when tendons or other tissues become inflamed, they swell and cause everything to tighten up and make grinding, popping, clicking, snapping, or cracking sounds.

If any of these tissues and structures are injured or simply inflamed, the smoothly functioning shoulder can cause popping, snapping or clicking.

These “injuries” can be simply due to everyday use, a sports injury, chronic repetitive stress due to sports or workout routines, or significant trauma from a fall or accident. Calcific tendonitis could also cause your shoulder joints to snap, pop, crack, or grind.

Why does my shoulder pop, crack, or click?

There can be any number of things that cause shoulder cracking or clicking, but a common one – and what causes that unique feeling and sound – is the muscle tendons in your shoulder moving across the bone. These tendons are extremely elastic and strong, like guitar strings.

And they act like guitar strings when they move or vibrate across the bones of the shoulder, causing the various clicking, popping, or cracking noises.

You can also consider the movement of tendons, muscles, and bones together to be similar to a rugby scrum – everything works in harmony and you don’t notice anything until the wrong movement is made or the wrong note is played.

If your shoulder recently started clicking, cracking, popping, or making any other unusual noises or causing you pain, you may have injured the muscle somehow, therefore altering its shape or the track or groove in which it operates.

A sudden onset issue like this means that’s definitely time to see a shoulder specialist for an assessment and ways to prevent further damage, whether your shoulder joint pain and problem ends up being major or minor.

This is one of those situations where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so seeing a specialist or an orthopaedic shoulder surgeon who deals with shoulder joint issues is a good idea. Do it sooner rather than later!

Shoulder Blade Cracking

Some minor causes of shoulder clicking or popping include:

  • Scapulothoracic bursitis – the inflammation of the bursa sac that helps two joints move or glide together smoothly
  • Malunion of a fracture of the scapula or ribs – this occurs if you’ve recently fractured your shoulder or ribs and the bones didn’t heal properly, making them prone to “catching” on each other therefore making popping sounds or other noise
  • Labral tears – damage to the labrum, the cartilaginous structure that holds your shoulders together
  • Osteochondroma – a benign bone or cartilage growth that occurs in the shoulder, scapula, or rib cage

Bigger issues that may require more medical intervention are rotator cuff tears, arthritis, and biceps tendon problems. However, no matter what issues you might have, seeing an orthopaedic shoulder specialist when you have shoulder joint cracking, popping, or clicking is always a good idea.

When to seek treatment for shoulder popping and shoulder cracking

Having a sudden onset of shoulder popping pain or clicking can be very worrisome, but it’s particularly problematic if you’ve experienced a recent shoulder injury – meaning its time to see a shoulder specialist or orthopaedic surgeon. If your shoulder was recently injured and it is now sliding in and out of place (also referred to as dislocating), it may snap or pop, or you may have a grinding sensation when you move or bend it.

Shoulder pain and popping

Issues like bicep tendonitis, torn rotator cuffs, torn labrums, or similar injuries can all cause shoulder pain and popping; moreover, you could have a “loose body” getting caught in your shoulder, which means that a piece of cartilage has been torn loose and is floating around and causing the clicking feeling.

What’s more, if the snapping or cracking is in the back of the shoulder could be the result of an issue like bursitis with your scapula or shoulder blade.

Shoulder Blades Crackle Knives

If you haven’t had a recent injury and have no history of shoulder problems, know that ageing can naturally cause your shoulder joints and tissues to roughen and that may cause some relatively harmless snapping, popping, or clicking.

It’s important to understand that painless shoulder clicking or popping often does not require any treatment at all, but of course it’s always good to have things checked out by a shoulder specialist or an orthopaedic surgeon.

How an orthopaedic shoulder surgeon can help with pain

When you’re experiencing shoulder issues of any kind – whether it is clicking, cracking, popping, or anything else, your first step should be to look at your options for a shoulder specialist like an orthopaedic shoulder surgeon and the associated professionals they work with.

Shoulder Blades Crackle Blades

After all, your shoulder joints are extremely complex and there are a variety of conditions and issues that you may have if you’re experiencing shoulder cracking, snapping, or popping.

While treatments can run range from physiotherapy to surgery, working with an orthopaedic surgeon can help you alleviate the pain and bring full movement back to your shoulder joints if you are dealing with an injury or arthritis.

How a physiotherapist can help with posture

If you have shoulder joint issues that don’t require full on surgery or similar treatment from an orthopaedic surgeon, you can ask for a referral to a physiotherapist. These professionals specialise in realigning your movements and adjusting your posture that allow your shoulder muscles, bones, tendons, and tissues to work together more efficiently.

A physiotherapist can help with posture corrections, stretching and strengthening exercises, all of which will help your bones work together more efficiently. They can help you develop exercise routines that will encourage faster healing, other stretches and strengthening exercises, and physical activity modifications, ways to encourage and promote quicker healing, and anything else you can do to help deal with shoulder joint issues like cracking, snapping, or popping.

Know that if you raise the issue with your doctor and get referred to the appropriate shoulder specialists, you can see significant improvements in your shoulder popping, cracking, snapping, or clicking symptoms over time.

Shoulder Blades Crackle Replacement

What to do if you have shoulder issues?

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Shoulder popping, cracking, snapping, clicking, and any other issues mean that you should at contact a shoulder specialist to take a look at your shoulder joints and diagnose any medical problems.