Is it bad to click your knuckles??!
Question: Most people have cracked their knuckles more often than they're willing to admit. Against the steering wheel of the car. On the arm of an office chair, or right on the desk. People crack their knuckles mostly when they're alone, but sometimes they do it in public -- under the table in a restaurant. Most of the time they get away with it, but sometimes they get caught, and people turn away in disgust. They suspect that cracking their knuckles is unhealthy, but it feels so good that they just don't want to stop. And yet maybe it's harmless -- they're not really sure. Does cracking one's knuckles cause permanent damage?
No it doesn't.
Plain old knuckle-cracking should not cause any damage. It does not strain the ligaments or the tissues, or overextend them enough to cause arthritis. It also should not cause joint weakness, on a long-term basis. Anatomically, physiologically and mechanically, there's no reason it should cause harm. You literally have to disrupt the joint capsule through excessive force -- like a ligament injury in a knee, or 'skier's thumb,' for example -- to cause chronic, long-term damage. The forces generated by knuckle-cracking are relatively small in comparison.
So mother's childhood warnings were just old wives' tales. The cracking sound is caused by a gas, mainly carbon dioxide, that usually is dissolved in the synovial fluid that encapsulates most joints. If you pull on the joint or distend the joint capsule, the walls of the capsule expand and lower the pressure on the fluid inside it. The gas then comes out of solution suddenly and forms bubbles, which makes a popping noise. The stretching of the capsule also allows a temporary increase in the joint's range of motion. When you move the joint back into position, the fluid comes under normal pressure again, and the bubbles gradually go back into solution. The time it takes to re-dissolve the carbon dioxide into the synovial fluid prevents the knuckle from cracking again for a few minutes.
Although the actual process of cracking a knuckle may take only a few milliseconds, the relief that some people feel from it is palpable. Chiropractors make a business out of manipulating joints to reduce stress, and dedicated joint-crackers even have their own Web site and discussion board, on which to exchange anecdotes. The only consequences knuckle-crackers face for their popping and snapping will be comments from friends and funny looks from innocent bystanders.
Answers: Most people have cracked their knuckles more often than they're willing to admit. Against the steering wheel of the car. On the arm of an office chair, or right on the desk. People crack their knuckles mostly when they're alone, but sometimes they do it in public -- under the table in a restaurant. Most of the time they get away with it, but sometimes they get caught, and people turn away in disgust. They suspect that cracking their knuckles is unhealthy, but it feels so good that they just don't want to stop. And yet maybe it's harmless -- they're not really sure. Does cracking one's knuckles cause permanent damage?
No it doesn't.
Plain old knuckle-cracking should not cause any damage. It does not strain the ligaments or the tissues, or overextend them enough to cause arthritis. It also should not cause joint weakness, on a long-term basis. Anatomically, physiologically and mechanically, there's no reason it should cause harm. You literally have to disrupt the joint capsule through excessive force -- like a ligament injury in a knee, or 'skier's thumb,' for example -- to cause chronic, long-term damage. The forces generated by knuckle-cracking are relatively small in comparison.
So mother's childhood warnings were just old wives' tales. The cracking sound is caused by a gas, mainly carbon dioxide, that usually is dissolved in the synovial fluid that encapsulates most joints. If you pull on the joint or distend the joint capsule, the walls of the capsule expand and lower the pressure on the fluid inside it. The gas then comes out of solution suddenly and forms bubbles, which makes a popping noise. The stretching of the capsule also allows a temporary increase in the joint's range of motion. When you move the joint back into position, the fluid comes under normal pressure again, and the bubbles gradually go back into solution. The time it takes to re-dissolve the carbon dioxide into the synovial fluid prevents the knuckle from cracking again for a few minutes.
Although the actual process of cracking a knuckle may take only a few milliseconds, the relief that some people feel from it is palpable. Chiropractors make a business out of manipulating joints to reduce stress, and dedicated joint-crackers even have their own Web site and discussion board, on which to exchange anecdotes. The only consequences knuckle-crackers face for their popping and snapping will be comments from friends and funny looks from innocent bystanders.
It is, it can hurt your joints. Can get rheumatoid arthritis
Cracking your knuckles causes cavitation at the joint, any air that was in the joint is expelled causing that cracking noise. Done once in a while it can relieve soreness in the joint but excessive cracking causes the joint to become hypermobile and can also lead to inflammation and degeneration of the joint capsule.
There is no evidence that cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.
No i can honestly say its not i have bn doing it since i was 6 yrs old and am 19 now. And dnt worry about it getting worse or getting arthiritis wen ur older cos its not true. I talkd to this old man and he had bn doing it even longer than i am and he told tht his hands r stronger than they have ever bn. He sed he has arthiritis in his knees, wrists and other places but on in his hands. I was worried about tht happening to me wen i get older but he reassure me tht it wont happen and ur hands will not give out wen ur old. So no its not bad. Id say it makes ur hands stronger