Do you love cracking your knuckles almost every single day? Well, you may be happy to hear that this pesky little habit will not lead to arthritis and hand immobility. Some people do this regularly, while others crack their knuckles when they feel that their hands are starting to tense up. However, this seemingly harmless addiction gets put under the microscope by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center. So what are the long-term effects of popping your joints? Let’s find out!
The Men Behind The Study
Dr. Robert Boutin and Dr. Robert Szabo, a radiologist and hand surgeon at UC Davis wanted to find out what goes on inside the body when someone releases stress by cracking their knuckles. So they decided to take a few lucky candidates and stick them under the scope of
What Happens When You Crack?
The cracking of your knuckles is nothing more than the sound of the joints in your fingers stretching. When you pull apart the joints, the synovial fluid, which is the fluid that lubricates your joints, is liberated and this created the satisfying sound. Faculty editor, Robert H. Shmerling, MD, wrote on a blog that, “The “cracking” of knuckle cracking seems to be produced by increasing the space between finger joints. This causes gas bubbles in the joint fluid to collapse or burst. It’s a bit like blowing up a balloon and then stretching the walls of the balloon outward until it pops.”
400 Knuckles
Researchers began looking at the ultrasounds of about 400 different knuckles, and what they discovered was pretty incredible. Apparently, there was a significant flash within the joint when the knuckle was cracked. This is also why it takes approximately 20 minutes before you can get another good crack in. Shmerling added, “The reason you can’t crack the same knuckle or joint twice right away is that it takes some time for the gas bubbles to accumulate again in the joint.” In layman’s terms? The gases will take that long to dissolve back into the fluid. This is also known as the refractory period, or a knuckle-cracking nightmare if you ask us!
The Myth
For many years, researchers have been intrigued about that horrible cracking sound, and what it means for your overall health. In 1947, there was a scientific paper published that claimed that the sounds were created when the synovial fluid within the joint first forms a bubble. However, 30 years later, a different group of researchers realized that that simply wasn’t the case. They found that it made a lot more sense that the sound happened when the bubble popped. But in April of 2015, a group of researchers at the University of Alberta investigated it using MRI recordings, and couldn’t come up with evidence to prove either. So who’s got it right?
Which Came First?
For many years, researchers have been intrigued about that horrible cracking sound, and what it means for your overall health. In 1947, there was a scientific paper published that claimed that the sounds were created when the synovial fluid within the joint first forms a bubble. However, 30 years later, a different group of researchers realized that that simply wasn’t the case. They found that it made a lot more sense that the sound happened when the bubble popped. But in April of 2015, a group of researchers at the University of Alberta investigated it using MRI recordings, and couldn’t come up with evidence to prove either. So who’s got it right?
Baby, You’re a Firework
An unexpected finding, as Dr. Boutin says, “What we saw was a bright flash on ultrasound, like a firework exploding in the joint,” and truly it was. After making this eerie discovery, the next questions was, what are the repercussions? And most importantly, is knuckle cracking safe?
Confirmed
As the team was only able to study short-term results, the findings were incredible news for knuckle-crackers all over the globe. There were no signs of immediate swelling, damage, or pain. And when researchers compared the results gathered from the crackers with the non-crackers, they came to the conclusion that there were no differences whatsoever. So how do we really know that knuckle cracking is actually harmless?
Sweet Victory
The study even went as far as checking motion and mobility, which came up fine. The researchers found no difference in the range of motion between the two groups. According to dr. Shmerling, one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that supports the theory that knuckle cracking is harmless was obtained thanks to a California physician. The doctor conducted an experiment on himself. Shmerling said, “Over his lifetime, he regularly cracked the knuckles of only one hand. He checked x-rays on himself after decades of this behavior and found no difference in arthritis between his hands. A larger study came to a similar conclusion.” So if you’re a serial knuckle cracker, then you’re in the clear. Crack away, my friend!
Serial tea drinker. Professional wig snatcher. Content creator and video script writer who may or may not be John Leguizamo’s body double. If you don’t like where you are, move. You’re not a tree.