Is Cracking Your Knuckles A Fast Track To Arthritis?

 Often I have found there are two groups of people in the world; people who don’t crack

their knuckles and warn the other group, the habitual joint crackers, that arthritis is an imminent

consequence of the habit.

An article from John Hopkins Arthritis Center describes what is actually going on

beneath the skin.

All joints are surrounded by a sac that is filled with synovial fluid which contains

nutrients and dissolved gasses and works to reduce the friction between your joints so that they

can move comfortably for years. When you crack your joints; back, neck, fingers, or anything

else, the sac stretches, decreasing the pressure inside. This decreased pressure creates a vacuum

within the sac. The gasses dissolved in the synovial fluid move to fill the vacuum space, creating

a gaseous bubble. It's this bubble that when popped, creates the cracking and popping sounds that

you either love or hate.

The article states there is no higher propensity for knuckle crackers to develop arthritis

than non-knuckle crackers. A similar article from Harvard Medical School backs this

claim saying there is no correlation. The Hopkins article goes on to say that even if you have

arthritis currently there is zero evidence that cracking your knuckles directly makes the condition

worse unless you do it incorrectly and injure surrounding tissue.

Posted by Ila Maeve (1)

Arthritis News: Knuckle Cracking from Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center

Does cracking knuckles cause arthritis? - Harvard Health

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2022 at 4:41 PM

    Hi Ila! I thought that your post was really interesting! I always thought there was a downside to cracking your knuckles all the time as I never crack my knuckles so that is good to know that if I do I shouldn't be worried about anything. Is arthritis caused by a decrease in the volume of sacs around our joints? And is there a way to prevent that?
    Alissa Ngo

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2022 at 4:42 PM

    Hi Ila,
    I tend to crack my knuckles pretty often so it's good to know that my habit won't lead to arthritis. As a kid, I remember my grandma telling me all the time to stop, but now I can tell her that it won't according to studies by Harvard and John Hopkins. Do you know what other motions or activities could lead to arthritis though?
    - Tiffany Pham

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anna NiezreckiSeptember 28, 2022 at 6:07 PM

    Hi Ila! As someone who cracks their knuckles religiously, I was very interested in reading this post. It's super weird reading about the science behind what is really going on during this common habit. It's relieving to know that it does not correlate to arthritis, but are there any downsides to cracking your knuckles? Another question I have is, why does it feel so good to crack your knuckles?

    - Anna Niezrecki

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2022 at 6:51 PM

    Hi Ila! This is a very interesting post because I did not know the mechanism of cracking knuckles. As a retired gymnast, I think I have had just about everything crack, and it is reassuring to have some evidence that this is not any concern of getting arthritis. One thing that I do not like is when my jaw cracks. Do you think certain joints could be more sensitive than others? I seem to crack my knuckles with ease, but my jaw does get sore if it makes a big crack.
    Samantha Bunner

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2022 at 8:32 PM

    Hey Ila! As a fellow knuckle-crack, I couldn't help but sigh in relief upon concluding my read through your post. Something that always confused me was if the crack itself was perceived as bad or the method by which you crack that actually has a negative impact. There are medical practitioners that swear by cracking joints as a form of treatment: chiropractors. Do you think there is potential adverse effects to seeing chiropractors too often, and do you think that, with more studies debunking joint cracking as bad, chiropractors can be seen as less problematic by western modern science medical industries?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2022 at 8:47 PM

    Hi Ila! I'm really glad that you chose this topic to write about. Arthritis has always been something that many of my family members have dealt with throughout their lives and because of that, I have always been told to not crack my knuckles (or any of my joints for that matter). This definitely provides some relief to that mindset but I was wondering, does cracking our joints even relatively pose as a threat? I believe that too much of anything can be harmful so would excessively cracking our knuckles eventually lead to some medical complications?
    - Amy Perez

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2022 at 10:34 AM

    Hi Ila! This was a very interesting topic to write because it is something so many people do! I have always been a knuckle cracker and my parents have always yelled at me to stop. One question I have is why does it feel somewhat addicting? For example, I feel like after writing a paper or drawing something my knuckles need that release.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2022 at 10:35 AM

      The comment above was posted by Brenna MacDonald. (I forgot to put my name)

      Delete

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