Noisy knee or knee crepitus is a common complaint/concern of people with knee cap pain.
We don’t know what causes the noise on the knees. But, recent data show that people with knee cap pain who have noisy knees have similar levels of pain, function, fear of movement and knee strength compared to those who don’t have noisy knees.
In other words, if you have knee cap pain and a noisy knee, it doesn’t mean your condition is worse than those who have knee cap pain and no noisy knee.
Additionally, a previous study investigated 250 asymptomatic knees (knees with no pain) and found that 99% of people had knee crepitus.