Knuckle Cracking
 

Do you crack (pop) your joints? I've been trying to stop for a long time, but its a habit I can't seem to shake. I usually just pop the knuckle on each of my fingers, but my back pops accidently sometimes. I've also heard many conflicting stories... It causes arthritis (which I do not think is true), I've heard it relieves arthritis, I've heard it does nothing but release air in your joints. What is your experience with its outcome? Does it make you sore at all? Any pain? What have you heard?

I only crack my knuckles occasionally. It would seem that there is no definitive understanding of the physical mechanism that produces the crack, but its hypothesized that the sound occurs as a result of cavitation in join fluids. Yes, its an old wive's tale that cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis but if you do it a lot you are more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength.

I can also snap the tendons over my right wrist, the same hand I have a double-jointed thumb in. I don't do it too often, just to weird people out who have never seen it before, and it doesn't give me any problems.

I've found that cracking my joints actually relieves pain in them.

I can also crack every joint in each of my fingers, as well as the one for my thumb way back next to the wrist, and also the wrist itself. I know it's a really annoying habit for everyone around me, but it just feels so good. ;_;

I find that my knuckles don't crack as often then they used to. When I feel bored I need to do something with my hands so I end up cracking them.

Let's see. Yes.

I crack my neck several times a day. When I crack my fingers, I first grab the tip and I rotate it out to get a couple of pops, and then the standard push down. I also pop both joints of my thumb. I love it when someone cracks my back and end up popping my toes if I think about it. I've never cared for popping my wrists, but can do that, elbows, and knees.

My fingers actually start to hurt if I go too long without popping them, so there must be some physical reason for doing it.

Mikey, there's also a pull-out :p

For some reason, I can only do the pull out on my pinkies. It hurts a bit, but is also quite satisfying for an odd reason.

Also totally unrelated, but I don't get why the movies have these big macho guys cracking their knucks when they're threatening their opponents with a beat down. It doesn't really make you tough!

I crack my knuckles by bending them backwards occasionally. I've seen people do it by pulling on their fingers, which makes me cringe. I also crack my neck and back, which feels GRRRRRRREAT!

I crack my knuckles a few times a day, as well as my neck and one of my ankles. I crack my ankle because it seems to relieve the slight pain that I have in it.

You ever think of the possibility that the reason why they're hurting in the first place is because you crack them so much? :D

I used to do that a lot as well, but cut down on it years ago.

I used to crack my knuckles a lot back when I was in High School. I guess I've started to do it a lot less now as the years got on. There's no pain or anything like that, it just seems that joints that used to pop when I was younger don't pop anymore now......weird.....

Still, whenever I get a stiff neck, a good cracking roll or side-to-side action will make me feel a lot better. I can still crack the joints in my shoulders though, and doing so while my back is against a wall makes it that much more audible and weirds a lot of people out.

I used to be able to crack all finger and thumb joints. I can still crack my shoulders, neck, wrists and back. Cracking knuckles or joints doesn't hurt you or anything like that. At least, so far, I'm still good.

:beer:

I routinely crack every joint that I am capable of easily manipulating. This includes my fingers, toes, back, wrist, neck, elbow, ankles, knees, hip, and collarbone.

I only crack my fingers/knuckles as I can't get any of my other joints to do this. I've had a time where I tried to crack one but I couldn't get it, but it was like half-cracked because it felt like it needed to be and it hurt quite badly until I finally got it.

I crack my knuckles quite a bit, and it tends to be somewhat loud when I do. If I don't pop my knuckles for a while, my fingers seem out of place almost, yet it starts getting rather painful if I do it too many times during the day. However, whenever I try to crack any of my other joints, the attempt ends in failure and/or a greater pain than the one I was trying to relieve by cracking.

Well, I squeeze my hands really tight (especially at the joints) and they tend to crack pretty nicely. I don't do it because of pain, it's more of a habit when I'm stressed out.

I usually only crack my knucks, or other joints if i think of them specifically, so you can bet i just did a complete runthrough of my body reading this thread.

I've been known to crack all finger joints, the lower joint in my thumbs (in two directions) wrists, ankles, knees, elbows, shoulders, neck (only in one direction oddly enough), back, toes, pelvic bone ( i really need to stop that one, i'm sure i'm gonna paralyze myself one day due to carelessness) Sternum and nose if i'm lucky, and some others that only happen once in a while that i can't remember at the moment.

Man, i'm a mess. I really want to stop, but apparently i've inherited really loose joints from my mom. Often stuff just cracks by accident if i'm doing something physical. That's why i'm really counting on this stuff not causing arthritis in the long run.

I crack my fingers around fifteen times each time, I pull then, then crack the knuckles, then the lower fingers, it's excelent when the finger aren't responding at superhuman speed (gotta love FPS games...)

If I'm reminded or think of it, I HAVE to crack my knuckles. I saw this thread and automatically went to crack them. If I hear another person doing it, I have to do it. Otherwise, my joints start to feel stiff. Its a horrible psychological mindset... a weird one too... but I cant stop myself after I'm reminded of it.

I can't actually crack my knuckles; sure they bend the same but there's no satisfying crackle sound. Nor does it feel as good as when I do it to the upper joint of my thumbs (either bending them forwards or as if I was making a fist with the thumb tucked inside), or with my knees (almost every time I crouch down my knees crack). Asides from that I'm crack-free.

I was always told it was air in the joints; I never heard it had anything to do with arthritis.

EDIT: also, I forgot I can crack the bottom joint of my left thumb when I bend it backwards to my wrist (double jointed yay).

I cracked my knuckles as I opened this thread. Point being that I crack my knuckles (and only my knuckles) often.

I do...rarely. Not enough times to warrant a "Yes" vote. Speaking of cracking knuckles, I've known a guy before who cracked his knuckles and neck without even realising he did it. He'd do it, I'd tell him to stop, and he'd act oblivious. Weird, but very annoying. Arthritis waiting to happen, for him.

I crack my knuckles and fingers fairly often, but since "cheese" was an option in the poll I just couldn't ignore it. I used to crack my neck all the time too, but after talking to a chiropractor last summer I've made a real effort to cut back on that. It's interesting how cracking the neck loosens the muscles, but then causes them to overcompensate when tightening back, thus keeping the pain in a loop. I can't help it during tests or long drives though. Neck-cracking just relieves headaches and tension so well.

I crack my wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck constantly but have never been able to crack my knuckles.

my boyfriend does it all the time, I really hate the sound of it.

I can only slightly crack mine if I stretch them.

I'm pretty loud and obnoxious when it comes to mine... 20 cracks from both hands, both cracks from the wrists, cracks from my shoulders, crack from my neck turning to the right, both ankle cracks, 8 from my toes, and one or two from my back from twisting or bending back. Worse pops are my jaw. Its uber annoying when the air just escapes into my ears somehow. :\ And yeah even my knee pops and that's pretty painful too.

YES. I know exactly how that is.

I only started to crack my knuckles about a year ago. I have no idea why I started, but it seems to release an "icky" feeling from my fingers. If that makes any sense.

I've heard knuckle cracking causes arthritis later in life, but then again I've heard that it doesn't. I'm not sure really..

My knees tend to crack randomly sometimes though, which is odd.

I wonder if the majority 'Yes' has anything to do with us being gamers, or if in fact most people do it.

I started popping my knuckles about the time I was in 7th grade, I think. My friend Danny was doing it for a long time, and I asked him if it hurt and he was like "No way". So I started doing it, and it's been a habit I can't break since. I heard somewhere that all that it was was popping little air bubbles in between your joints, but who knows how true that really is.

Haha, yeah. Usually when I'm playing a game competitively I crack my knuckles beforehand. Especially at arcades.

I do it all the time, especially my neck. The whole cracking your knuckles causes arthritis is something I call bullshit on. First there's no concrete evidence to support this and arthritis is generally caused by age and repetitive tasks. And if it does, it won't happen until a later age, and there are treatments to take care of it.

Repetitive tasks huh...? How is popping your knuckles multiple times a day not a repetitive task?

Also... what happened to Cheese? :\

Well, things like carpal tunnel are caused by repetitive tasks. Unless you're a freak you'll never crack your knuckles as much as you type so I doubt that'd be a problem.

No I can't do this awesome stuff but it's super to see that apparently the majority does.

I hate the sound of someone cracking his fingers >.< so no I'm not doing it.

In fact for me, it's a painful experience XD I hate to crack my fingers by mistake. It probably hurt because I'm not sue to do it though...

I don't think it cause arthritis but I heard that it make your joints bigger. (that's probably why I have so skinny fingers XD)

I never ever bother to, because I always have had the preconception that people only crack their knuckles to show off, and that it's just something done to make loud noise/disturb others/out of habit/etc. Like biting nails, to me, it's just an unnecessary action.

Plus, I never thought it'd be good to do so, playing piano and all.

I crack my knuckles both via extension and tension. I consider it to be a way of resetting the joints after prolonged repeated activity such as writing or typing.

I also crack other joints such as my feet and ankles, neck, and vertebrae.

Oh dear lord that's gross dull :<

It isn't "cool" to crack your knuckles. It doesn't improve your gaming skill, or relax your muscles. I haven't found any benefits apart from perhaps a looser feel.

I occasionally crack my knuckles. It isn't something which I do on purpose, it just happens. Since it's basically the same as dislocating your shoulder, it isn't a natural thing which should be done. It shouldn't. I don't like doing it because there's a huge ass chance of having big, ugly knuckles pointing out of your skin when you're older.

I guess it'd be okay if a chiropractor did it, since he or she would know what they're doing (I hope) but then you would have to trust them to do so.. I'd still rather not.

I pop 'em all the time. No problems so far. I can go nonstop since I don't think they ever stop cracking.

I do it occasionally, and some of my joints just crack on their own sometimes - like my hip joints. I don't think it has anything to do with my age, since my hips have been doing that since I was a child.

About knuckle-popping, though, it really annoys me when people do it in a public setting, like at dinner or at a party. It sounds gross and to me it's almost as rude as picking your nose in public. Especially the neck/back popping. No one wants to hear that deep wet crack of bone upon cartilage while they're eating lobster.

Nah, I can't really intentionally crack my knuckles anyway. Besides, my knuckles hurt if they crack for any reason.

Uh, no, and no.

This entire paragraph is wrong.

When I crack any joint in my body I do get that loose feeling, but it does seem to make for a better reflexes while I am typing or playing certain games. Though that only pertains to my fingers. As for other parts of my body, I crack them to relieve pressure that builds up from old injuries. It is quite a comfortable release until there is a point that you can't crack something at the moment you want to.

http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Cracking-Your-Knuckles

I cracked my knuckles all the time as a kid, and now I have huge obvious knuckles when my hand is in a fist position. From what I've read it's false that cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis (playing with an original xbox controller might, or something, lol), but it isn't something I'd recommend to others.

Either way, it doesn't have to be done, nobody's forcing you to do it, so yeah. Unneeded worry.

I usually crack my knuckles, or pop my neck, ankles, or wrists, for that reason. However, there are those times where they pop by accident.

Oh hay awesome Elixir thinks everything he reads on the Internet is true.

1) Dislocating your shoulder means just that: the bone actually comes out of the joint. When cracking fingers, they are simply stretched.

2) Those symptoms that are listed are things that many people feel with time, bone cracking or not. Simply saying that two things happen concurrently doesn't indicate that they are related.

I also type this with the knowledge that no one will ever have to explain it to Elixir again, since, as has been established, he'll believe anything he reads on the Internet.

Are you sure that's just not the way your body is? I crack my knuckles all the time, done it for a long while and my knuckles are fine. I'm sure if you're a small body build, your knuckles will be much more prominent than someone who has a medium or heavy set build.

I crack my knuckles on occasion (I did literally right before I typed this). It takes around 2 hours for me to be able to do it again, though.

Yeah, I do it. My hands feel weird if I don't.

Heh, perhaps Elixir...

...eh, too easy.

I can only seem the crack the pointer finger and middle finger on both my hands. My thumb, ring finger and pinky all don't seem to be able to produce a crack, much to my frustration. For that reason I don't crack my knuckles very often, I feel wierd only cracking two of my knuckles on each hand.

I shit you collectively not; every joint in my body is clickable/crackable. Every finger, every toe, every vertebra, both knees, both ankles, both shoulders, both elbows, both wrists, even my nose (although I don't think that one's a joint; more a result of having broken it three times).

I'm trying to stop clicking my fingers because I've noticed my grip weakening, but I still manage to attract attention when a huge SNAPCRACKLEPOP comes from my back every time I sit up.

I'm only 20, and every thing pops when I wake up, or when I move out of weird positions as well Krelian. I don't know if it's bad or not, or it means my bones are achey or old or something, but I have to admit it kind of worries me...

I crack most of my fingers, wrist, elbows, ankles, knees (unintentionally; when I stand for too long, they pop), neck, jaw, ear (I pull at my left earlobe, and there's a pop too...), and back.

My parents always discouraged it, but it's probably going to be a habit I'm not going to grow out of.

Don't know if it pertains to any injury, but I LOVE it when someone pops my upper back. I had a trampoline accident when I was a kid, and it feels really nice when that portion is cracked.

:) Where did you find that picture in your sig? I just checked the SCII website and couldn't find it. That's awesome. I'm glad lurkers won't look like giant deformed spikey frisbees this time.

On topic, I pop my knuckles several times a day. My fingers cramp up if I don't. I'll also pop my toes ocassionally if my feet are cramping. For some reason, I can pop my right big toe indefinitely.

I used to crack my knuckles out of habit, but now I do it when there is discomfort.

Due to my back condition, I have to crack it every now and then to "straighten it out" and relieve pain.

I've found myself lately cracking my knuckles while playing games with a lot of hand movement (ie. Pop'n Music) or typing.

It's sort of scary how easily I can pull it off. They just click in a millisecond like they're really loose. I hope it's normal because I don't want to end up with hand troubles when I'm older (no hands = no gaming, typing, basically it'll cut me out of doing a lot of activities which happen all the time).

I've never been much on cracking my knuckles, personally. The sound used to be a real pet peeve for me, but I've gotten over it considering my girlfriend cracks her joints all the time without thinking. I'm still not one to do it myself, though.:eagletear:

Crack my ankle's ALOT. If they are motionless for a minute they become stiff enough to do it. Seems weird, to me at least, but I think it's a normal phenomenon to crack your ankle's all the time.

Cracking my knuckles is a habit I wish I'd never started. I have received no benefit from it, and my fingers have felt kind of awkward ever since I made it a habit.

I haven't really done it habitually for a few years now, however. Ironically, I do think it's had a negative effect on the flexibility of my fingers, and I don't feel as comfortable as I used to doing normal things like holding a pencil for several hours (as an artist, I do this all the time).

I have a very bad habbit of cracking my knuckles, toes, neck, back... anything else you can think of. I gross myself out with it sometimes.

Sadly,yes I pop my knuckles and my toes. Sometimes my leg pops on its own but that's not my doings.

Let's see... I crack my toes a few times a day during school by just pushing them down against the ground. I crack the knuckles in my fingers by making in like 4 different ways that I don't feel like describing. I can crack my neck and ankles all day without losing the popping sound. And I crack my back very often. I actually cracked my knuckles when I clicked on the page and then I saw this topic. I've heard all of the stories, but most doctors I know say that it's nothing to worry about with arthritis and all.

Oh yeah, definitely, I find my knuckles feel a little painful sometimes, so giving them a good crack helps. In a weird way there's something slightly soothing about it.