Clunking, clicking, popping? Any definitions?

[bothdone]

Whenever I read posts about clunking, clicking or popping I wonder exactly what is meant by these terms.    Do any definitions exist on these boards?  Or can people suggest definitions for them?

I get odd little sensations in both of my resurfaced hips.    There's no pain associated with them and I suspect people with "normal" hips get these sensations.  It is just that we have heightened awareness of things going on in our new hips.

The first is like a sudden very small drop in height - is this clunking?

The second feels like something catching on something and then releasing like an elastic band - is this popping or clicking?

Please add your defintions and maybe we can come up with ones that can be accepted as describing the sensations accurately.

Thanks and best wishes to all "hippies".

Ed

[B.I.L.L.]

Whenever I read posts about clunking, clicking or popping I wonder exactly what is meant by these terms.    Do any definitions exist on these boards?  Or can people suggest definitions for them?

I get odd little sensations in both of my resurfaced hips.    There's no pain associated with them and I suspect people with "normal" hips get these sensations.  It is just that we have heightened awareness of things going on in our new hips.

The first is like a sudden very small drop in height - is this clunking?

The second feels like something catching on something and then releasing like an elastic band - is this popping or clicking?

Please add your defintions and maybe we can come up with ones that can be accepted as describing the sensations accurately.

Thanks and best wishes to all "hippies".

Ed

Hahaha   Man I don't even know, but I'll take a stab at it. My opinion is the sensation everyone is trying to descibe is caused by a slight separation between the cap and the cup, this creates a suction as the fluid moves between the two pieces, and then another sensation when they go back together and the fluid is forced back out.  If it happens just a little bit, that is a "Click" , a little more and it's a "Knock" or a "Pop",  and when it does it really good, that is a "Clunk"   As the muscles get stronger around the joint and the two componets are held in place tighter, the sensation is less and less.  I think that a normal hip probably has that slight separation as well but it is not noticable because of the cartelidge cusion between the ball and socket, even the slightest separation is amplified in a resurfaced hip due to the fact that it is metal hitting metal with nothing soft between them to cusion the effect.  In my opinion clunking, thunking, popping, knocking, clicking, ratcheting, banging, wiggling, whatever you want to call it, are all describing the same basic sensation, just to varying degrees. If that makes any sense...   
Nice topic Ed !  I can't wait to read the different views on this one, 3+ pages with no definitive answers is my prediction haha

[muzza]

"The second feels like something catching on something and then releasing like an elastic band - is this popping or clicking?"

This is precisely the way I described the sensation I used to get after my first hip,right, was resurfaced two and a half years ago.  When my surgeon asked me soon after if I was experiencing any clunking or clicking I said "no" but told him I was experiencing a sensation as if a ligament or tendon was twanging over the joint, like an elastic band. The sensation went away after a few months

After my second hip, left, was resurfaced a year ago, I had no clicking, clunking or twanging at all in that hip. And yet both hips were BHR and performed exactly the same way according to my surgeon.

Neil

[John C]

Okay, here is my stab at it just for entertainment.
In the first few weeks, I had definite "clunking", that I believe was caused by the fact that the muscles and ligaments were not tight enough to hold the two metal surfaces together all the time, and they would clunk when they came back in contact.    I could swear that I could actually hear it. This went away for me after a few weeks.
The second, and much more subtle sensation, is one that I still get occasionally. It usually happens when I first get up, and the joint is not well lubricated, but it can surprise me at other times.    It feels like the high point of the ball was not quite centered against the high point in the cup when I first weighted the leg, and as I turn or twist slightly, it slips half a millimeter, into a more centered contact. I am guilty of calling this "clunking", even though it is quite different, and is really totally silent. I guess that slipping would be a better term.
I found the early clunking to be very unnerving, and the current slipping to be more of a mildly annoying reminder.

[Jim1957]

I'm 9 months post surgery (left hip resurfacing) and I do clunk at random times.  If I bend at the waist to pick something up, I almost always clunk.  I used to clunk every once in a while when I walked but that doesn't happen anymore.  Sometimes I clunk when making love which is really annoying to me but my wife doesn't notice the clunking (thank goodness).  Not sure this helps but it seems that as time has passed I'm less of a "clunker".

[bothdone]

Hi Jim

What does a "clunk" feel like?

Thanks

Ed

[Jim1957]

It's almost like you can feel the metal head move inside the cup.  Almost like a rattling feeling but very minor.  Hard to describe but I guess if you can visualize the head moving around.  I know there's not a lot of play there but there must be a little gap and sometimes i can feel it "bouncing around", for lack of a better way of saying it.

[Luann]

Hi everyone,
  This topic is very good to know about. I guess I feel lucky, as I have not had one of these sensations/noises happen to me yet (10 weeks out). Has anyone, like me, NOT had this problem early on... only to have it start happening later? Sounds like most people have it soon after surgery, and have it get better with time.
 At least now, if this does start happing to me, I will not panic and will understand it is just one of the "joys" of HR.  Thanks, Lu

[Big Bill]

Big Bill here.....I've been waiting to comment on this open ended issue....yes, I know it is hard to believe, but I, Big Bill, have clunked ,clicked and popped   . The very first time I was stretching before a long walk/hike. What I felt was a kinda shift , rubber band thud sensation...just so we keep this true and honest ....I DID NOT see any UFO'S ....but my eyes did open wide for a few seconds      . I believe to have uttered an explative or two   and feeling no pain ,proceded to test out the hip, completing my walk/hike  . It has happened multiple times over the last two years plus,without any pain associated. Seems like the more I swim and participate in water aerobics, the less it happens  . What I deem to title it  now is the "Rice Crispie Hip Sensation"  (sure to go down in "Hippy History" terms) ...you all know how it goes ...Snap , Crackle , Pop... I'm a Hippy !!!!  


 Big Bill   C.A.S.H.   Dr. Kreuzer 7/09/08
 

[B.I.L.L.]

It's almost like you can feel the metal head move inside the cup.  Almost like a rattling feeling but very minor.  Hard to describe but I guess if you can visualize the head moving around.  I know there's not a lot of play there but there must be a little gap and sometimes i can feel it "bouncing around", for lack of a better way of saying it.

How's this analogy,  Your towing a trailor that hardly has any tongue weight, and then you drive across some railroad tracks....

[fenceman]

Great analogy BILL but I would call that a Clunk. It also works because when you are pulling a trailer you are worried about the trailer coming loose from the truck.  I use to worry about my leg that way.

I still get clicking on occasion but no Clunking.

Bill

[Jim1957]

Bill,  actually that's a perfect analogy.  That really is the sensation I get.  I've never had any pain associated with it so it doesn't bother me anymore.  The first few times it happened I was pretty concerned.  I had visions of the head of my femur popping out of socket and metal pieces flying all over the room.  My poor wife and daughter taking shrapnel.