It is so easy to get into the habit of cracking your knuckles, its a pretty satisfying feeling and sound. All knuckle cracking is, is stretching your finger joints. There’s a lot of reasons why people may feel like doing it. Some do it when their anxious and need some stress relief or just for the satisfying sound and feeling. Regardless there is always going to be someone who looks at you weirdly when you do it, specially if your family is around (that may just be my family).
The majority of the time, those weird looks aren’t from ill intentions though, it does emit a pretty destructive sound, kind of similar to the one when you crack a tooth.
There is no conclusive evidence that it causes any serious or long lasting harm, or even arthritis. It simply just a myth! There are no good quality studies that show a link between knuckle cracking and degenerative changes in knuckles, or the metacarpophalangeal joints.
“I usually tell my patients there’s no evidence that it’s harmful,” said Michael Pham, a rheumatologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
Back in 1998, Donald Unger, a physician, tested the myth. He cracked the knuckles on his left hand twice a day, every day but did not crack his right hand. 50 years later, his knuckles showed no signs difference. Letting him come to the conclusion that despite his mouther’s beliefs of knuckle cracking being harmful, it wasn’t much of a big deal.
Osteoarthritis is one of the many types of arthritis. It’s a degenerative disease in which the tissues in the joint wear away, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. A lot of people like to make the connection between cracking your knuckles and the disease, despite no studies placing the blame.
What if I can’t stop cracking?
Maybe arthritis isn’t a concern… but in rare cases cracking could cause minor injuries such as ligament injuries and joint dislocation. According to Korsh Jafarnia, an orthopedic hand surgeon at Houston Methodist, research is mixed on whether the habit can cause other issues
It my be rare but if you develop pain, discomfort or experience an escalation of pain that lasts more than about six weeks, or notice swelling or warmth in a joint, you should seek medical attention from a primary care physician or rheumatologist.
