Is Cracking Knuckles and Joints Bad?
Question by Dave M: Is Cracking knuckles and joints bad?
I have a habit of cracking my knuckles, and my back and neck. i also can sometimes crack my ankles and knees. will doing it too much have some long term effects?
Best answer:
Answer by Zayedbin Sultan
Arthritis and Cracking Knuckles
No, there is no evidence that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis.
Here is some more input from contributors:
* Cracking your knuckles wears away the cartilage between the joints over a long period of time. This is one of the causes of arthritis. Other causes of arthritis are completely unrelated, like for example, you can inherit it from your parents, or get it because of a disease like Lupus. So, I guess if you might get it anyway, and you might not know if it was your’s or your parents fault, go ahead and crack away.
* Don’t listen to those people that tell you cracking your knuckles will cause you to have arthritis. At this point it’s just a speculation, not wild, but certainly not founded on anything but misconceptions. All you’re doing is playing with the physiology and chemistry of your body a bit. There are good and bad sides to this. Here’s a rather complete site if you want to read more (which keeps me from typing it all out): howstuffworks.
* No, of course it doesnt. A study focused on 300 habitual knuckle crackers found no evidence linking knuckle cracking and arthritis. Chronic crackers did suffer other harm, including soft tissue damage and loss of grip strength. This damage is usually minor, however, and cracking your knuckles actually has some benefits — you’ll feel looser and enjoy more mobility in your joints immediately after popping.
* No, it only elongates the joints over time and gives you the appearance of longer fingers.
* No. I’m 20 and I have been cracking my knuckles (toes, back, neck…) since third grade. My knuckles, if I pull the skin tight are a bit larger than normal, but it’s not noticeable. My fingers don’t look long to me.
* This is an old wife’s tale that has been debunked many times. The crackling sound when you ‘crack’ your knuckles is just the release of gases (nitrogen if I recall) back into your bloodstream. No one has ever shown that this is in any way harmful but it can be annoying if done habitually. That’s probably why the athritis story originated, an annoyed parent wanted to scare his kids into stopping the practice.
* I am a paramedic student and EMT, and have also posed this question to my anatomy professor in the past and to nurse and paramedic instructor back in paramedic school. All cracking your knuckles does is release gas build up between the joints and has nothing to do with arthritis. P.S.: The cracking of knuckles is nothing compaired to the every day abuse the joints go through in every day normal use.
* It takes 20+ minutes for the gases and fluids to get back into your knuckles to get poped again. and it has been proven that the worst thing that can happen is a slightly stretched ligament which is not harmful at all. it is perfectly fine. Don’t do your neck though: let the chiropractors do that.
* Not everybody’s joints crack. Some people have a larger separation between the bones and some people can’t relax enough to allow the bones to separate. If you can crack and your mom tells you, you’re going to get arthritis, she’s just yanking your chain. There is no scientific evidence that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis. However, it can’t be good to repeatedly push a joint beyond its normal physical range. Besides that, it’s annoying. Cracking your knuckles can cause a decrease in your grip but unless you’re signing any multi-million dollar contracts as a pitcher, it’s not worth giving up. But it’s still annoying.
* Of course it doesn’t. I’ve been doing it for years and if anything, it increases felxibility and keeps your fingers supple. I would know, I play the guitar and the piano and it always helps.
* No is your answer, i am a sports and fitness major and i have askeds many of my Prof. and they all say the same thing there is no evidence that cracking your knuckles inflames the joints and leads to arthritis. the cracking causes the bones to pull apart, forming a gas bubble in the joint, and thats what makes the sound.
* There has never been a meaningful study done that has shown knuckle cracking to be harmful to the finger joints. 25% of americans crack habitually.
* Cracking your knuckles will likely not cause arthritis. There is no evidence that it will. However, as a long time knuckle cracker I can tell you that there are dangers to knuckle cracking. You can sprain your joints if you are not careful.
* I have always cracked my fingers, toes and arm. I also have arthritis and know that it is inherited from my mother (who does not crack). Has anyone thought about maybe it could be the other way around, maybe having arthritis even in the early stages makes some people need to crack their joints. Maybe it is a condition where some people have excess nitrogen bulid up in there joints making them feel uncomfortable and causing pain and related some how to having arthritis.
Answer by Katie
Many say that this leads to arthritis. This is false, cracking your joints is simply popping a bubble of fluid in between them. It won’t do much bad but if you do it often and extensively it may lead to minor joint damage in your elderly years.
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