Cracking Your Knuckles: Good or Bad?

You may have heard someone say that cracking your knuckles can cause arthritis, but the medical consensus is that it’s neither good nor bad for you. Research has discovered that the cracking sound comes from the rapid development of gas bubbles inside the fluid of your knuckle joint, known as synovial fluid.

There are several reasons that people become habitual knuckle crackers, but the bottom line is that the experience is considered harmless, and the response is mostly psychological. M.D. Donald Ungar famously debunked the theory by cracking the knuckles on his left hand at least twice a day for 50 years, while leaving his right hand out of the fight. Once the score came in, neither hand showed signs of arthritis nor any other apparent differences.

Between all the myths, the popping sound in your knuckles is simply nitrogen bubbles that burst inside the joint fluid of our knuckle joint.

The cracking sound is referred to as crepitus, or crepitation, which is used to describe cracking, popping, crunching, grinding, and any other noises associated with moving joints. We previously discussed crepitus to uncover more about what causes joint cracking.

The same definition is used to describe tendons or ligaments that snap, and when the loss of cartilage causes bones to grind together due to the degenerative effects of arthritis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

So, while the joint cracking of your knuckles should be harmless, if you experience any pain in your finger joints, knuckle joints, hand swelling, a loss in hand function, or a loss of grip strength, there may be an underlying cause that should be evaluated by a health care professional.

In all the above circumstances, you should strongly consider seeking medical advice to determine the underlying risk factor. Dr Matt le Roux is a highly skilled chiropractor with decades of experience and extensive knowledge of the body’s spine, muscles, joints, bones, and tissues.

If your habitual knuckle cracking has suddenly resulted in pain, or if you have noticed gradual pain, numbness, or dysfunction in your hands, Matt may be able to you help identify the underlying causes through chiropractic care and may be able to set you on your way to recovery.

Simply book an online appointment today and let Matt help you identify what’s really cracking.

Frequently Asked Questions:

References:

WebMD
https://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/joint-cracking-osteoarthritis

Cedars Sinai
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/ask-a-doc-is-knuckle-cracking-bad.html

Arthritis Health
https://www.arthritis-health.com/types/general/what-crepitus#:~:text=Crepitus%2C%20sometimes%20called%20crepitation%20(krep,Conditions%20Related%20to%20Degenerative%20Arthritis

Aurora Health Care
https://www.aurorahealthcare.org/services/orthopedics/conditions/crepitus

Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/crack-research/

Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-cracked-own-knuckles-for-60-years-to-quash-links-with-arthritis-2018-8?IR=T

BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4yHxWLGSyNrXmx1gfYd45f2/will-cracking-my-knuckles-give-me-arthritis

Medline Plus
https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/synovial-fluid-analysis/#:~:text=Synovial%20fluid%2C%20also%20known%20as,disorders%20that%20affect%20the%20joints.

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synovial_fluid

JSTOR Daily
https://daily.jstor.org/happens-crack-knuckles/

Mayo Clinic
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoarthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351925#:~:text=Osteoarthritis%20occurs%20when%20the%20cartilage,bone%20will%20rub%20on%20bone.