Cracking your knuckles does not cause arthritis

Are you sick of people telling you that you’ll get arthritis if you continue to crack your knuckles? Yea, me too… especially since cracking your knuckles doesn’t actually cause arthritis. When you “crack” your knuckles, the sound you hear isn’t actually the sound of your bones cracking. In reality, it is the sound of gases being released from the Synovial fluid in your joints. Synovial fluid has various gases dissolved in it. These are oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. A joint is the place where two bones meet. In this case, the joint is the place between the bones on our fingers. When you crack your knuckles, the inside of your joint capsule expands. This expansion is limited by how much Synovial fluid is contained in your joint. Synovial fluid cannot expand unless it releases some of its dissolved gases. When those dissolved gasses are released, you get to hear that unmistakable cracking/popping sound.

No related posts.