Is Cracking Your Knuckles Really Bad?

[Methais]

Some say it is and that it will give you arthritis later on, others say it's harmless. Can someone with a clue fill me in on which it is?

[AestheticDeath]

I have always heard that it was bad. I have no proof though.

[RichardCranium]

I've always heard that it was bad, but I've never seen proof that it is. I stopped about a year ago though just in case.

[Anebriated]

Supposedly it does not cause arthritis. The only thing i can find that is bad about it is that it stretches the ligaments past their normal range of motion. While that might cause Arthritis down the road it isnt any bigger of a cause than it being hereditary.

[Whimsi]

I don't know if it's physically bad for someone but I cringe when I hear the sound so it's bad for ME. Stop it now.

[Satira]

I do this all the time, and I've looked into it a whole bunch. There aren't ANY studies that prove it causes arthritis. Sometimes a person will have more joint damage over a long period of cracking their knuckles, but even that is a pretty small amount.

[Anebriated]

Cracking your neck is supposed to be worse than your knuckles/back.

[Gan]

Q: Is cracking your knuckles really bad for you?

February 10, 2004

. . . My mother always told me it can cause arthritis. Is that true?

M.K., Cambridge

No. In fact, it's not dangerous at all, said Dr. Jonathan Kay, clinical director of the rheumatology unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"The cracking sound you hear when you pull on your fingers is caused by the release of negative pressure within the joint," he said. Technically, this is called cavitation. Inside every joint in the body, a gooey substance called synovial fluid coats the surfaces of cartilage to protect them. Just as two discs coated with mineral oil stick together and can only be pulled apart with a bit of force, so it is inside the joint. When you pull, you break the vacuum seal created by the synovial fluid and the breaking of that seal causes the popping sound -- from the bursting of bubbles of gases dissolved in the fluid.

Curiously, it takes about 20 minutes for the seal to re-establish itself. So crack your knuckles all you want. You might stretch a few ligaments, but you will not give yourself arthritis. But it'll be no fun unless you wait 20 minutes between cracks.


http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/02/10/q_is_cracking_your_knuckles_really_bad_for_you/

[Jayvn]

I just had to pop my thumb after reading this. Now I just need to get my back done by one of those witch medicine men(chiropractor).

[AestheticDeath]

That study has to be bogus. I can pop my big toe over and over and over and over just by moving it.

And oddly enough there are a lot of times I cannot pop my joints no matter which direction I pull or push etc..

[Stanley Burrell]

It is bad to crack one's knuckles shortly after hand-replacement surgery.

[Ignot]

I crack my knuckles all the time. Sometimes it just feels good to do it, like a relief of pressure or something. My fingers feel stiff and after I crack them they feel better. If that study is true then is it all just in my head?

[Jayvn]

The suction being released is the good feeling after ignot

[Jazuela]

I crack my knuckles all the time. Mom used to warn me against it, but dad did it more than I did. The irony of this story, is that my dad and I are the only ones in the family who do -not- have carpal tunnel syndrome.

As in all things, one can come up with a "scientific" statistic on this: 100% of all knuckle-ignorers will eventually get carpal tunnel syndrome, while 100% of all knuckle-crackers will not.

[Asha]

I crack my knuckles Bruce Lee style before I settle into playing stringed instruments for any particularly long hauls.
I noticed an improvement in suppleness (sp) from when I didn't, years ago.
No arthritis yet.

[Methais]

How about cracking your neck? Or your back? I tend to do all this several times a day. And it's like Frank Drebin swimming in raw sewage - I love it.
http://oddculture.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/nielsen-leslie.jpg

[Czeska]

I had an orthopedic surgeon tell me cracking my knuckles wouldn't cause any damage.

Unless it hurts when you do it (which means something else is wrong). Then, he said, don't do it. Logical.

[Skirmisher]

Q: Is cracking your knuckles really bad for you?

February 10, 2004

. . . My mother always told me it can cause arthritis. Is that true?

M.K., Cambridge

No. In fact, it's not dangerous at all, said Dr. Jonathan Kay, clinical director of the rheumatology unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"The cracking sound you hear when you pull on your fingers is caused by the release of negative pressure within the joint," he said. Technically, this is called cavitation. Inside every joint in the body, a gooey substance called synovial fluid coats the surfaces of cartilage to protect them. Just as two discs coated with mineral oil stick together and can only be pulled apart with a bit of force, so it is inside the joint. When you pull, you break the vacuum seal created by the synovial fluid and the breaking of that seal causes the popping sound -- from the bursting of bubbles of gases dissolved in the fluid.

Curiously, it takes about 20 minutes for the seal to re-establish itself. So crack your knuckles all you want. You might stretch a few ligaments, but you will not give yourself arthritis. But it'll be no fun unless you wait 20 minutes between cracks.


http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/02/10/q_is_cracking_your_knuckles_really_bad_for_you/

Yes.



I had an orthopedic surgeon tell me cracking my knuckles wouldn't cause any damage.

Unless it hurts when you do it (which means something else is wrong). Then, he said, don't do it. Logical.

And yes.