knee stuff

Question
I am 30 female. Ive been in and out of pysical therapy for knee pain as I totally overdid running for ten years. Now I just do elliptical and bike and fast walk. I've been maintaining that for years, sin ce I had tracking issues and then a hamstring tendonitis tat crossed my knee. Lately, I've been stupid and doing more squats and trying to always squat when I bend down to get somethig and lunges. Lately I've been feeling my knees more stiff but more aggravating, lots of cracking in the knees when I sit down, stand up, extend leg; I've always had cracking knees, but it's more and constant. I hope I havne't screwed myself up for life here because I love to be active. I will quit all squats and lunges, but please tell me do you think I'm in a serious situation or can I get over this??? And what would you recommend I do? There's some pain when I bend, but mostly just stiffness and lots of cracking! do you think it's cartilage damage or just some irritation/tracking?  And can it be reversed?

Answer
No, you are OK. cracking knees are nothing to worry too much about.

popping or cracking knuckles is a result of releasing gas out of a pocket of liquid in your joints (if I remember correctly). Basically, it's kind of like opening a can of soda. It isn't harmful and contrary to popular opinion doesn't cause arthritis

Knees, on the other hand, usually pop because of ligaments snapping over bony protrusions. This again is harmless unless you're really twisting your kness.
Why it would happen "all the time" depends on how often you're talking about, but my knees crack and pop at least 5 - 10 times a day, and it's considered normal for me.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_would_your_knees_crack_and_pop_all_the_time#ixzz1M...

Make sure you are taking vitamins, most importantly, chondroitin with MSM; this will help with your knees long term, and help you avoid any major damage down the line. However, weights will put much more stress on the joints, so just make sure you rest as much as you push. Overtraining will kill you if you don't rest enough. Just look at this infographic: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663723/infographic-of-the-day-why-pro-athletes-slee...