What does cracking my knuckles actually do?
405696
A single event is not enough to cause damage to the joint, although it is possible that prolonged joint stress due to cracking knuckles may eventually lead to a higher risk of joint damage. The long-term consequences of this practice have not been studied thoroughly, and the scientific evidence is inconclusive. \n\nHowever, the common parental advice "Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis" may be simply a device to deter children from this practice, which many people find annoying because of the sound it makes. In fact, a study by Castellanos and Axelrod found that arthritis was not a product of knuckle cracking. They evaluated 300 consecutive outpatients at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital to determine whether habitual knuckle cracking is a risk factor for hand dysfunction. They found no relation with osteoarthritis, but noted that 'knuckle crackers were more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength.' (http://elfstrom.com/arthritis/knuckle-cracking.html)\n\nOn a lighter side, there is an online community for "joint crackers" at http://www.jointcrackers.com/ . where you can get community support for your favourite activity ;-).
358411
There are a few explanations. The first for mainly the cracking bones would be the positive feeling one mentally and physically perceives from cracking bones (technically not actually the bones). Because they associate the action with a positive feeling they do it more often.\n\nAnother comes from the stress release. In psychology there's a term called "Sublimation" in which someone will place their agression and stress into unrelated activities. This is an example in which someone might be stressed so they bite their nails or crack their fingers because they find this to be a pleasuring release of tension through the cracking sound or the light biting of the nail and removing it. \n\nAs long as people develop posotive associations with actions they'll continue to do it. At first the discovery is probably accidental but eventually a habit forms (the body seeks positive feelings and stress release).\n\nHope that helps
32404
I used to think this too, I crack my finger knuckles all the time!  Here's a little medical myth's debunked info for ya!
1025281
if you crack your knuckles often enough, you can end up with swollen ligaments.\n\nA study looked at 300 people who had been cracking knuckle joints for 35 years. They had slightly swollen joints (which is no big deal). But the real surprise was that their hands were weaker - their grip strength was one quarter as strong as it should been!\n\nIt does NOT cause arthritis. In fact, it's not dangerous at all, said Dr. Jonathan Kay, clinical director of the rheumatology unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.\n"The cracking sound you hear when you pull on your fingers is caused by the release of negative pressure within the joint," he said. 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.\nCuriously, 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.
638485
The Real Deal on Cracking Your Kuckles\nWhat's really happening when you "crack" your knuckles is that you are either pushing the joint back into or out of its normal position. Joints are the meeting points of two separate bones which are held together by connecting tissues and ligaments. A thick, clear lubricant (made mostly of carbon dioxide and some nitrogen) called synovial fluid is found between the bones. When you stretch or pull your finger to get that desired popping noise, you are causing the bones to pull apart. Pressure is reduced on the synovial fluid and bubbles form that quickly expand and then burst - which is why you get that noise.\n\nDoes Knuckle Cracking Lead to Arthritis?\nNot 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.
302976
My brother used to crack his knuckles and once asked a chiropractor about the repercussions of cracking. And you know what the chiropractor said? That the "popping" sound you hear when cracking, is merely your knuckle (or other joint) releasing nitrogen gas that is between your joints... and it's harmless. Of course, I think that it's more severe if you crack your neck or back, but knuckles are fine according to what my brother was told.
33199
That is the air bubbles that are "popped" between the musclesand joints when you pull the knuckles
396652
If you've ever laced your fingers together, turned your palms away from you and bent your fingers back, you know what knuckle popping sounds like. Joints produce that CRACK when bubbles burst in the fluid surrounding the joint.\n\nJoints are the meeting points of two separate bones, held together and in place by connective tissues and ligaments. All of the joints in our bodies are surrounded by synovial fluid, a thick, clear liquid. When you stretch or bend your finger to pop the knuckle, you are causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. As they do, the connective tissue capsule that surrounds the joint is stretched. By stretching this capsule, you increase its volume. And as we know from chemistry class, with an increase in volume comes a decrease in pressure. So as the pressure of the synovial fluid drops, gases dissolved in the fluid become less soluble, forming bubbles through a process called cavitation. When the joint is stretched far enough, the pressure in the capsule drops so low that these bubbles burst, producing the pop that we associate with knuckle cracking.\n\nIt takes about 25-30 minutes for the gas to redissolve into the joint fluid. During this period of time, your knuckles will not crack. Once the gas is redissolved, cavitation is once again possible, and you can start popping your knuckles again.\n\nAs for the harms associated with this habit, according to Anatomy and Physiology Instructors' Cooperative, only one in-depth study regarding the possible detriments of knuckle popping has been published. This study, done by Raymond Brodeur and published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, examined 300 knuckle crackers for evidence of joint damage. The results revealed no apparent connection between joint cracking and arthritis; however, habitual knuckle poppers did show signs of other types of damage, including soft tissue damage to the joint capsule and a decrease in grip strength. This damage is most likely a result of the rapid, repeated stretching of the ligaments surrounding the joint. A professional baseball pitcher experiences similar, although obviously heightened, effects in the various joints of his pitching arm. But assuming you haven't signed a multimillion dollar contract to constantly pop your knuckles, it hardly seems worth the possible risk to your joints.\n\nOn the positive side, there is evidence of increased mobility in joints right after popping. When joints are manipulated, the Golgi tendon organs (a set of nerve endings involved in humans' motion sense) are stimulated and the muscles surrounding the joint are relaxed. This is part of the reason why people can feel "loose" and invigorated after leaving the chiropractor's office, where cavitation is induced as part of the treatment. Backs, knees, elbows and all other movable joints are subject to the same kind manipulation as knuckles are.
454635
I spoke to a Dr. recently about this and he gave me am article about it............NO it is not it is an old myth, about arthritis and knuckles getting larger, the cracking sound that is heard is only gasses in the joint and by cracking them it just releases the gas...and then when the gas refills the joint it can be popped again
689779
My doc said it was normal to hear cracks every now and then...joints are supposed to move around (like when your back cracks when you stretch).\nMost of the time, the popping noise heard when you 'crack' joints is simply gas bubbles being forced out of cavities within the joint.\nIn such cases, there is little or no damage done, even in people who do it for fun.
793826
i never used to crack my fingers, until my best friend did it so i just took it up as a habit since we always hung out. it was really hard to stop b/c my fingers would get cramped up so that the only form of relief was to crack them. whenever i got the urge to crack them i just really had to have a lot of self discipline and just NOT do it. my b/f helped though too b/c he would always be like stop that! if he caught me doing it without me knowing. my dad also was always like dont crack your fingers, or else they'll get all fat lol. good luck
1045034
It actually is good for you.  Studies show that it does not cause arthritis.  All you are doing is releasing air within the joint capsule.  I am an OT who has some exerience with hand injuries and there is nothing medically against it.
441700
"Cracking Down on Knuckles\n\nYou've all heard the story that cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis. Maybe your mom can't stand that "popping" noise and that's why she tells you knuckle cracking will damage your finger joints. Kidzworld did some digging around to find out what makes that "popping" noise and if it causes arthritis. Here's what we found out. \n\nThe Real Deal on Cracking Your Kuckles\nWhat's really happening when you "crack" your knuckles is that you are either pushing the joint back into or out of its normal position. Joints are the meeting points of two separate bones which are held together by connecting tissues and ligaments. A thick, clear lubricant (made mostly of carbon dioxide and some nitrogen) called synovial fluid is found between the bones. When you stretch or pull your finger to get that desired popping noise, you are causing the bones to pull apart. Pressure is reduced on the synovial fluid and bubbles form that quickly expand and then burst - which is why you get that noise. \n\nDoes Knuckle Cracking Lead to Arthritis?\nNot 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."
29043
A single event is not enough to cause damage to the joint, although it is possible that prolonged joint stress due to cracking knuckles may eventually lead to a higher risk of joint damage. The long-term consequences of this practice have not been studied thoroughly, and the scientific evidence is inconclusive. However, the common parental advice "Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis" may be simply a device to deter children from this practice, which many people find annoying because of the sound it makes. In actual fact, study by Castellanos and Axelrod showed that arthritis was not a product of knuckle cracking. They evaluated 300 consecutive outpatients at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital to determine whether habitual knuckle cracking is a risk factor for hand dysfunction. They found no relation with osteoarthritis, but noted that 'knuckle crackers were more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength'
158222
It is an old wives tale that cracking your knuckles will cause arthritus, not so. What makes the cracking sound is the space inbetween the joints and when they are manipulated for the crack, they will produce the poping sound. But as for doing your back or neck, those are some pretty important things to your body and if you make a mistake and do it wrong, you could end up with damage from minor stuff to something major enough to need surgery or even cause you to end up in a wheel chair. I went to school with a girl who would crack her back and then her neck and once when she was at home and did it, soemthing did not move as it should have and she has been in a wheel chair ever since.
1004312
it might...might enlarge your joints or may increase chances of joint diseases.  i've cracked my knuckles since i was a kid, i need to since i use my hands a so much. just don't overdo it. and don't believe that stupid myth that it causes arthiritis. that hasn't been proven.
933130
Nope. It's simply caused by the release of air pockets between the joints. It's a myth that it causes arthritis. It may make your knuckles a little larger (mine have), but it won't cause any major health problems.