I can’t stop cracking my knuckles!

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I find myself cracking my knuckles all the time. I can’t remember when I started doing this but I probably do it about once an hour or so.

Now, I’m double jointed and can bend the top part of my thumb back to parallel. When I show people this they make that bitter beer face and say it looks weird.

I guess they’re right, it does look kind of strange. I’m just so used to seeing it because it’s me and I thought it was normal.

And funny enough, its the knuckle I enjoy cracking the most, maybe because I don’t need any other fingers to assist. It makes a crisp little popping noise that makes me feel like my thumbs are ready to rock.

Urban Legend

Like many people, my mom always used to say, ‘Stop cracking your knuckles you’re going to get arthritis’ or ‘Don’t do that at the dinner table, it’s not polite.’ (There was always a premium put on table manners at my house.)

Anyway, as I was sitting here (cracking my knuckles) I decided to look into it and see what causes the knuckles to crack and whether or not there are any adverse effects to cracking them incessantly, over the course of time.

Here’s what I found:

1- Once you’ve cracked your knuckles it takes about 25-30 minutes before you can crack them again.

2- There is no evidence that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis. There’s one scientific study (often quoted) that says there’s no direct correlation between knuckle cracking and arthritis. You have a much better chance of inheriting arthritis.

At worst, chronic knuckle crackers may suffer some soft tissue damage and loss of grip. That fact may deter those of you that are thinking about a career in arm wrestling or Major League Baseball.

3- Cracking your knuckles over time may elongate the joints, giving you the appearance of longer fingers. So if you want to have the appearance of having bigger hands crack away. We’ve all heard the old wives tale about having bigger hands, ha.

4- the sound you hear is the release of build up gases returning back into your bloodstream. Synovial fluid is found between the joints in your fingers and when you crack, the pressure created pops the built up fluids. Like I said in #1 it takes about a half hour for that fluid to settle back in.

5- the cracking of knuckles is nothing compared to the everyday abuse we put most of our other joints through. By cracking your knuckles you actually enjoy more mobility in your hands.

Shall I go on… nah. I think I covered the most important points.

Social Pressure

As it turns out, the biggest problem you face is from other people. A lot of people can’t stand the noise it makes, much like finger nails on a chalk board. Or for me, the sound of people sliding their feet on outdoor slate or the sound of Styrofoam rubbing up against anything else. The thought of it gives me the chills.

So if you’re a knuckle cracker and you’re around people that don’t mind it… Snap, Crackle, Pop…

Here’s a link to an article that will clue you in to everything you ever wanted to know about the subject.

Impromptu Poll

Do you crack your knuckles? I wonder what percentage of people actually do it? Any thoughts?

Tags: Random Musings