Snap! Crackle! Pop!
No, this is not referring to your favorite cereal, it is instead a popular tagline used to refer to the cracking of ones knuckles. There has been a lot of discussion over this topic. What exactly is that popping sound? Is it harmful? Why are people addicted to this motion?
To start, the sound that occurs when you press strongly against your fingers is not exactly a pop, but a releasing of synovial fluid from a pocket between the two joints in the finger. “When you pull, twist or otherwise “crack” a joint, you’re expanding the volume of space between your bones. That volume expansion creates negative pressure, which sucks the synovial fluid into the newly created space. This sudden inflow of fluid is the popping you feel and hear when you crack a knuckle,” stated Dr. Pedro Beredjiklian, chief of hand and wrist surgery at Philadelphia’s Rothman Institute. You can read more about his explanation here.
If I were to count how many times a day I cracked my knuckles, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was well around 20. It has become a subconscious motion & nevertheless, quite addictive. As I sat here wondering what to write for my blog and pressed my phalanges against one another, I wondered, is this bad? After further research, it turns out that knuckle-cracking can be linked to arthritis, but it doesn’t necessarily cause it. The popping of the synovial fluid bubbles really don’t harm the bones, but can lead to a loss in one’s ability to grip. It has also been studied that those with a knuckle-cracking issue have more swollen hands, though this has proven to be just above a hypothesis.So, realistically, you are at no harm when you pop your joint bubbles, but you may want to back off a little, you know, just in case.
Besides cracking one’s knuckles being a “health” issue, it also seems to have become a social issue as well. If you’ve ever crunches your joints in front of others, or in a public setting, you’ve likely gotten a few looks. “You shouldn’t do that, you’re going to get arthritis.” Well, now you can inform society that that is a false statement and continue crack-a-lackin’.
I found this article to be very interesting because I do this constantly, and I get looks and comments every single time. My mom suffers from arthritis so for a while, I thought I would need to stop doing it which was extremely difficult. But, contrary to what most people think, this doesn’t really cause any physical harm and nothing close to arthritis which is a relief.
I had to try and explain this to my father awhile back. I did the research on the knuckle cracking and tried to explain to him that the cracking of knuckles will not cause arthritis. However, much of the potential health risks are in regard to what is making the noise. If the noise is a result from expanding volume, it is not harmful, but, according to a time article, if the cracking sound is a result of “tendons catching on irregular bone or joint formations,” it is advised to not agitate the area to prevent possible health complications.
I found your article intriguing because I had always thought cracking knuckles were bad for ones health. For some reason, I rarely am able to crack any of my joints: wrists, neck, back or knuckles. In fact, I often experience great pain in my lower back and in my big toe because I cannot relieve the stress by cracking them. Once I read your article, I did my own research and found that you are indeed correct. Contrary to my previous belief, cracking knuckles doesn’t cause arthritis.