An undeniable satisfying feeling and sound comes with cracking your knuckles. However, have you ever wondered what happens when you crack your knuckles too much? Is it wrong for your joints? Does it cause arthritis or make your fingers bigger?
Knuckle cracking is pulling, bending, or pressing your finger joints until they pop or crackle. This sound is created by releasing gas bubbles from synovial fluid, which lubricates your joints.
Source: Violin MD
When you stretch or compress your joint, you create a negative pressure in the fluid, which causes the dissolved gases to form a cavity or a bubble. The sound you are hearing is the formation or collapse of this bubble.
There is no solid evidence that knuckle cracking causes long-term joint damage, including arthritis, joint enlargement, or impaired grip strength. Several studies comparing habitual knuckle crackers to non-knuckle crackers found no significant difference in joint health or function.
One doctor cracked his left-hand knuckles for 50 years while leaving his right-hand knuckles alone and discovered no change in arthritis between the two hands.
This is not to say that knuckle cracking is entirely risk-free. If you crack your knuckles wrongly or forcefully, you risk injuring the soft tissues surrounding your joints, such as ligaments, tendons, or cartilage. This can result in pain, oedema, inflammation, or even finger dislocation.
If you want to stop cracking your knuckles, you should first figure out why you do it in the first place. Some typical explanations include:
- Sound: Some people enjoy the gratifying or calming sound of knuckle cracking.
- Feeling: Some believe that knuckle cracking relieves tension or enhances joint mobility.
- Anxiety: Some people crack their knuckles to cope with worry or stress.
- Some people crack their knuckles without thinking about it because it is part of their everyday habit.
Once you understand why you crack your knuckles, you can look for other ways to attain the same results without causing harm to your joints.
Healthy Alternatives:
- Sound: Instead of cracking your knuckles, listen to music, white noise, or other relaxing sounds.
- Feeling: You can increase your joint health and flexibility by massaging your hands, stretching your fingers, or exercising.
- Nervousness: You can calm your nerves and reduce stress by practising deep breathing, meditation, or other relaxation techniques.
- Habit: You can keep your hands busy and divert yourself from cracking your knuckles by using a fidget toy, a stress ball, or other objects.
Knuckle cracking is a popular pastime that many people love, but it can have harmful implications if done excessively or carelessly.
While there is no convincing evidence that knuckle cracking causes arthritis or other major joint problems, it can cause soft tissue damage and pain or swelling around your joints.
As a result, you should avoid cracking your knuckles too hard or too frequently and get medical help if you feel any indications of joint injury. Look for other ways to satisfy your desire for sound, feeling, anxiousness, or habit without causing harm to your joints.
