• What Makes Knuckles Crack
• What Makes Knuckles Cracking Sound

Cracking joints is manipulating one's joints to produce a distinct cracking or popping sound. It is sometimes performed by physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and masseurs in Turkish baths.^[1]

The cracking of joints, especially knuckles, was long believed to lead to arthritis^[2][3] and other joint problems. However, medical research has not demonstrated such a connection.

Joint 'cracking' can result from a negative pressure pulling nitrogen gas temporarily into the joint, such as when knuckles are 'cracked.' This is not harmful. 'Cracking' sounds can also be heard if tendons snap over tissues because of minor adjustments in their gliding paths. This can occur with aging as muscle mass and action change. It takes about 25 to 30 minutes for the gas to redissolve into the joint fluid. During this period of time, your knuckles won't crack. Once the gas is redissolved, cavitation is once again possible, and you can start popping your knuckles again.

“Patients do come in all the time and want to know if knuckle cracking is bad (for their joints),” Boutin said. “It’s a real-world question that a lot of patients ask.” Although popping knuckles is arguably the most common kind of joint cracking, it can also occur in the ankles, knees, back or neck. Ultimately, there are no significant benefits to cracking your knuckles, and a possibility that it could cause injury or damage to your joints and ligaments over time, so this is one habit that you’re better off without. If you crack your knuckles and find it difficult to stop, I suggest you to try the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Some people love the feeling of cracking their knuckles, while others cringe at the sound. But what causes that trademark pop? And is it dangerous? Eleanor Nelsen gives the facts behind joint popping. Jul 31, 2017  Your joints can make a variety of sounds: popping, cracking, grinding, and snapping. The joints that 'crack' are the knuckles, knees, ankles, back, and neck. There are different reasons why these joints 'sound off'. Escaping gases: Scientists explain that synovial fluid present in. There are things you can do to lessen the urge to crack your knuckles. “Hand, wrist, and forearm stretches performed regularly can help relieve the need to crack your knuckles as often,” says Curda. Every hour or two, try holding your hands in a prayer position in front of your face, then gently pull your hands downward toward your belly button until your elbows spread apart and you feel the stretch.

The cracking mechanism and the resulting sound is caused by carbon dioxide cavitation bubbles suddenly partially collapsing inside the joints.^[4]

Causes[edit]

For many decades, the physical mechanism that causes the cracking sound as a result of bending, twisting, or compressing joints was uncertain. Suggested causes included:

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• Formation of bubbles of joint air as the joint is expanded.^[5]
• Cavitation within the joint—small cavities of partial vacuum form in the synovial fluid and then rapidly collapse, producing a sharp sound.^[6][7]
• Rapid stretching of ligaments.^[8]
• Intra-articular (within-joint) adhesions being broken.^[8]

There were several theories to explain the cracking of joints. Synovial fluid cavitation has some evidence to support it.^[9] When a spinal manipulation is performed, the applied force separates the articular surfaces of a fully encapsulated synovial joint, which in turn creates a reduction in pressure within the joint cavity. In this low-pressure environment, some of the gases that are dissolved in the synovial fluid (which are naturally found in all bodily fluids) leave the solution, making a bubble, or cavity, which rapidly collapses upon itself, resulting in a 'clicking' sound.^[10] The contents of the resultant gas bubble are thought to be mainly carbon dioxide.^[11] The effects of this process will remain for a period of time known as the 'refractory period,' during which the joint cannot be 're-cracked,' which lasts about twenty minutes, while the gases are slowly reabsorbed into the synovial fluid. There is some evidence that ligament laxity may be associated with an increased tendency to cavitate.^[12]

In 2015, research showed that bubbles remained in the fluid after cracking, suggesting that the cracking sound was produced when the bubble within the joint was formed, not when it collapsed.^[5] In 2018, a team in France created a mathematical simulation of what happens in a joint just before it cracks. The team concluded that the sound is caused by bubbles' collapse, and bubbles observed in the fluid are the result of a partial collapse. Due to the theoretical basis and lack of physical experimentation, the scientific community is still not fully convinced of this conclusion.^[4][13][14]

The snapping of tendons or scar tissue over a prominence (as in snapping hip syndrome) can also generate a loud snapping or popping sound.^[8]

Effects[edit]

The common claim that cracking one's knuckles causes arthritis is not supported by evidence.^[15] A study published in 2011 examined the hand radiographs of 215 people (aged 50 to 89) and compared the joints of those who regularly cracked their knuckles to those who did not.^[16] The study concluded that knuckle-cracking did not cause hand osteoarthritis, no matter how many years or how often a person cracked their knuckles.^[16] A 1990 study also concluded that there was no increased preponderance of arthritis of the hand of chronic knuckle-crackers but that habitual knuckle-crackers were more likely to have hand swelling and lowered grip strength.^[3] It claimed further that habitual knuckle-cracking was associated with manual labour, biting of the nails, smoking, and drinking alcohol and suggested it resulted in functional hand impairment.^[3] This early study has been criticized for not taking into consideration the possibility of confounding factors, such as whether the ability to crack one's knuckles is associated with impaired hand functioning rather than being a cause of it.^[17]

What Makes Knuckles Crack

See also[edit]

• Crepitus—sounds made by joints

References[edit]

1. ^Richard Boggs, Hammaming in the Sham: A Journey Through the Turkish Baths of Damascus, Aleppo and Beyond, 2012, ISBN1859643256, p. 161
2. ^Shmerling, Robert H. (14 May 2018). 'Knuckle cracking: Annoying & harmful, or just annoying?'. How do we know that knuckle cracking is harmless?. health.harvard.edu. Retrieved 19 July 2019. One study published in 1990 found that among 74 people who regularly cracked their knuckles, their average grip strength was lower and there were more instances of hand swelling than among 226 people who did not crack their knuckles. However, the incidence of arthritis was the same in both groups.
3. ^ ^abcCastellanos, Jorge; Axelrod, David (May 1990). 'Effect of habitual knuckle cracking on hand function'. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 49 (5): 308–9. doi:10.1136/ard.49.5.308. PMC1004074. PMID2344210.
4. ^ ^abDvorsky, George. 'Simulation May Finally Explain Why Knuckle Cracking Makes That Awful Sound'. Gizmodo. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
5. ^ ^abGregory N. Kawchuk; Jerome Fryer; Jacob L. Jaremko; Hongbo Zeng; Lindsay Rowe; Richard Thompson (2015). 'Real-Time Visualization of Joint Cavitation'. PLoS ONE. 10 (6): 384–390. Bibcode:2015PLoSO.1019470K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119470. PMC4398549. PMID25875374.
6. ^Knapton, Sarah (15 April 2015). 'Why knuckle cracking makes a popping sound, and why it might be beneficial'. The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
7. ^Sample, Ian; editor, science (15 April 2015). 'Cracked it! Scientists solve puzzle of why knuckles pop when pulled'. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
8. ^ ^abcProtopapas M, Cymet T, Protapapas M (1 May 2002). 'Joint cracking and popping: understanding noises that accompany articular release'. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 102 (5): 283–7. PMID12033758. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
9. ^Brodeur R. (1995). 'The audible release associated with joint manipulation'. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 18 (3): 155–64. PMID7790795.
10. ^Maigne, Jean-Yves; Vautravers, Philippe (September 2003). 'Mechanism of action of spinal manipulative therapy'. Joint Bone Spine. 70 (5): 336–341. doi:10.1016/S1297-319X(03)00074-5.
11. ^Unsworth A, Dowson D, Wright V (1971). ''Cracking joints'. A bioengineering study of cavitation in the metacarpophalangeal joint'. Ann Rheum Dis. 30 (4): 348–58. doi:10.1136/ard.30.4.348. PMC1005793. PMID5557778.[1]
12. ^Fryer, Gary; Jacob Mudge & McLaughlin, Patrick (2002). 'The Effect of Talocrural Joint Manipulation on Range of Motion at the Ankle'(PDF). Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 25 (6): 384–390. doi:10.1067/mmt.2002.126129. PMID12183696.
13. ^'Why Does Cracking Your Knuckles Make So Much Noise? Science Finally Has an Answer'. Time. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
14. ^Chandran Suja, V.; Barakat, A. I. (29 March 2018). 'A Mathematical Model for the Sounds Produced by Knuckle Cracking'. Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 4600. Bibcode:2018NatSR..8.4600C. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22664-4. ISSN2045-2322. PMC5876406. PMID29599511.
15. ^Rizvi, Asad; Loukas, Marios; Oskouian, Rod J.; Tubbs, R. Shane (August 2018). 'Let's get a hand on this: Review of the clinical anatomy of 'knuckle cracking''. Clinical Anatomy. 31 (6): 942–945. doi:10.1002/ca.23243. ISSN0897-3806. PMID30080300.
16. ^ ^abDeweber K, Olszewski M, Ortolano R (2011). 'Knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis'. J Am Board Fam Med. 24 (2): 169–174. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2011.02.100156. PMID21383216.
17. ^Simkin, Peter (November 1990). 'Habitual knuckle cracking and hand function'. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 49 (11): 957. doi:10.1136/ard.49.11.957-b. PMC1004281. PMID2256753.

What Makes Knuckles Cracking Sound