I'm not a knuckle cracker myself. In fact, I hate it when people crack their knuckles. And I've frequently told people that cracking their knuckles would cause arthritis. After all, that's what everyone says. But according to this NY Times article (
republished in the Arizona Republic) it's not true. It's an urban legend.
Just reading this description of what causes knuckles to crack makes me cringe:
The loud pop of a cracked knuckle is caused by synovial fluid, the thick lubricant that surrounds every joint. When the fingers are stretched or bent backward, the bones of the joint pull apart. This creates bubbles of air in the fluid, which subsequently burst.
But as for the evidence that knuckle cracking doesn't cause arthritis, the article cites a 1990 study:
The largest study to explore a link to arthritis was published in 1990 in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. It looked at 300 healthy people older than 45, 74 of them habitual knuckle crackers. The rates of arthritis of the hand were similar in both groups, though the knuckle crackers, on average, had reduced grip strength.
Still, I think I might keep telling people who are cracking their knuckles that it's going to give them arthritis, just to annoy them and maybe scare them into stopping.
Comments
The bubbles can disappear because the gas dissolves in the liquid; but there won't be a pop.
The nature of this bubbles similar to bubbles in soda or mineral water, by bending you create low pressure and liquid start to "boil".
Also goes for my spine; I have to crack them over a chair back every so often or it starts to ache.
My back, however, I have to get help with.
T...sticks and stones...be nice.
I pop over 50 seperate joints in my body, including knees and hips.
I have been getting pain in my left index finger at the knuckle, and found that I actually NEED to crack it several times a day to keep it from hurting. Cracking it actually relieves it...what could cause such a thing?
barbara
help
Well try to improvise. push your back against back rest of your chair. but make sure your back rest is sturdy enough. and make sure your chair isn't the kind that moves.
I am fortunate enough to be double jointed and flexible. So I put my left arm behind my back, then I grab my right arm with my left hand. I then push forward my right arm and my left arm into my back. Boy does it feel gooooood!
you could probably do it without being double jointed but I wouldn't gurantee it.
Or maybe just have a co-worker pop it for you. Who cares if it's not professional. Just say your doc reccommends it.
Good luck.
I crack my finges but that isnt my worst habit, my worst is biting my nails. I've bitten them down so much it is hurting to type this.
I crack my knuckles because im a guitarist and a pianist and if i dont then i cant play properly. its something i have to do. i recently stopped cracking my toe though because ive done it so much that last week it dislocated and is now very painful. Doesnt put me off though.
Love to all
Beth
And let me tell you this guys: just like with alcohol and smoking, they will discover in time that this is an addictive and harmful behavior. It destabilizes your joints and makes a potential injury worse (doesn't mean you'll get an injury, but when you do, it will be very bad). Also, if you crack your neck (like I do quite often), it may cause problems with circulation and result in head aches (there were few people who had strokes as a result of an "adjustment" in chiropracter's office).
So, although it is not harmful in the short term, or if you do it only occasionally (like smoking and drinking), it is harmful if it becomes addictive. How do you know it's become addictive? If it hurts so much you cannot stop doing it. Your joints become less stables, so muscles around them tighten and spasm to keep them more stable. You feel discomfort, stretch the muscles and crack the joints, making them more unstable, making muscles spasm more, etc.
So, as for me, I am trying to stop and cut down on cracking joints. *Crack*... aaah... damn it...
Oh, by the way... chiropracters are such a bunch of phoneys. They are not even real doctors to begin with, so they are worse than psychiatrists. If you have back problems, seek out a real doctor, a neurologist or an orthoepedic (sp?).
sincerly,
courtney 😊
i crack mine all the time, and my toes, and my arms, and my knees, and my neck and back and my ankles and my elbows.
NIPS!!!!!!!
My hands are very shaky sometimes, especially when tired...could this be from my life destroying addiction to knuckle cracking! AHhhhhh!
anyone here crack their toes at all?
I must crack my joints from exteme stiffnes, especially in my back. If I don't crack my back, I am in a great deal of discomfort. I must have someone step on my back, twist or bend over backwards over a ridge edge. The stiffness is not always easy to get rid of. It makes life very unpleasant at times.
There's also the issue that a joint pushed almost to the point of cracking will likely hurt until it does crack.
All 15 finger/thumb joints, wrist (only if they have been inactive for at least an hour), elbow, knee, ankle, 9 joints of the toes (the little toe doesn't have the flexibility to crack the second joint), neck and low back.
Its so hard because there is no Nicabate CQ for knuckle cracking and you can't call a Quitline.
http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/5/10/9
I can't think of one joint I do not crack. Do it all the time too.
Very odd, it is.
I would like to see some sort of experiement done under sonar or ultrasound to see exactly what happens in the joint when we do this.
And it can be done quickly after being done before.
Very strange thing we do.
I never used to hear any sound from my wrists, no matter how hard I tried to "crack" them. But ever since I started playing piano and therefore stretching my fingers, moving my hands, etc, I have been able to crack at will.
The claim about cracking causing arthritis is wrong in my case, and maybe in several others. On the contrary, seeing as my cracking is due to a large amount of exercise and use of my hands, chances are I am less likely to get arthritis when I'm older.
I hope this helps to answer a few questions
Love Emma (aged 17)
I have been an avid joint cracker for more than 20 years which accumulated in a strong desire to learn and stop.
It has become an addiction for me and I personally thus define it as hurtful, as a condition, a disease, something to get rid off, to stop doing.
For the longest time I have been completely in the dark and have been laughed at by doctors I asked about this.
Not even a year ago I started a web community with the sole purpose to share and discuss this topic to condense all criticial knowledge in one single place for everyone to become the wiser.
You are all very much invited to visit us at http://www.jointcrackers.com
I'm humbled by AVF from Boston, MA who already posted in January 2006 the biggest answers I have been longing for. His summary post is perfect in line with all the research collected in one year so far.
To be sure, joint cracking isn't necessarily evil for everyone. In China it is even common health practice. Some reported, like here, that it helps them to maintain good joint health.
It only gets bad when you can't stop doing it. Like what happened to me. Through knowledge I am now much more aware of the issues at hand and am more able to get a grip on it.
There is still much to learn about all this.