Is cracking joints bad for you?!
Question:
Is cracking joints bad for you?
I've always been told by different people that cracking your different joints is bad for you and can cause arthiritis. Who told me this exactly? Mothers, and they got it from their mothers, who got it from theirs, and etc.
I crack my BACK (all the way up and down), neck, fingers, knees, heels, toes, and other parts that I may be forgetting. I must know if any of these places may be damaged after extensive cracking day after day for so many years. Thanks!
Answers:
There have been several recent long term studies published that show no osteoarthritis development differences in those whochronic knuckle crackers versus those who never crack their knuckles. The crack you hear is actually not completely understood on what causes it for sure, but it is thought that it is a change in pressure within the joint.
The one thing you may have to worry about is that arthritis is caused by abnormal motion and if you constantly crack you joints, you may cause them to become more mobile, and less stabile, so this may lead to abnormal motion, which will lead to arthritis. So there may be a grain of truth to it.