Does Knuckle Cracking Cause Arthritis?

Your parents have probably told you a thousand times. "If you crack your knuckles, you'll get arthritis." Well parents, this isn't true! Trace pops this common myth and tells you what actually happens when you crack or pop your knuckles, and how you can actually develop arthritis.

Read More:
What Makes Your Knuckles Pop?
"If you've ever laced your fingers together, turned your palms away from you and bent your fingers back, you know what knuckle popping sounds like."

Knuckle Cracking Q&A
"Why do people crack knuckles? Cracked knuckles feel looser and enjoy more mobility for awhile after cracking."
Ask a Scientist: Does Cracking Your Knuckles Cause Arthritis?
"There is no compelling scientific evidence that cracking your knuckles causes arthritis."

Ever Wondered if Cracking Your Knuckles is Bad for You?
"If you're a kid, chances are you either crack your knuckles or know someone who cracks theirs."

Does Cracking Knuckles or Joints Cause Arthritis?
"Cracking of joints, also referred to as 'popping', is a form of joint manipulation that produces a popping or cracking sound, as may occur during knuckle-cracking, a deliberate action."

What Makes the Sound When We Crack Our Knuckles?
"To understand what happens when you 'crack' your knuckles, or any other joint, first you need a little background about the nature of the joints of the body."

How Arthritis Works
"Many of us think of arthritis as a condition that causes old people to rub their hands together and predict changes in the weather."

Knuckle Cracking and Hand Osteoarthritis
"Previous studies have not shown a correlation between knuckle cracking (KC) and hand osteoarthritis (OA). However, one study showed an inverse correlation between KC and metacarpophalangeal joint OA."

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[rubikfan]

the problem is: the moment you do it once, just once, it need to be done more and more. and can not be stopped

[MAMAsby]

FINALLY!!!! I don't have to feel guilty about cracking my knuckles and joints!

[FinanceDreaming]

I've always been told cracking can give you arthritis but I never believed anyone. I've been cracking for 10 years and since I've been able to crack my toes, fingers, back, arm, knee and Neck. It gets quite addicting and its impossible to stop, it's very fun too!

[TallyBeanieBear]

So basically what you're saying is it doesn't cause arthritis but does the opposite so that means my mother flat out lied to me all these years....
...I knew it.

[curtisbrown]

I crack every joint in my fingers I can toes as well sometimes I'll randomly crack my elbows or kneas I can crack my neck my back too... the human body's got it's own personal bubble wrap pops...

[solk.posner]

Nice, I love cracking loud (Only once a day) in school and people say it's bad, but with this thanks Trace for sharing this info, the world are filled with so much misunderstood people.

[DeadManRising]

I crack my knees, elbows, ribs, fingers, wrist, neck, upper back, and under back...

how healthy am I???!

[InvictusByz]

I crack my knuckles, neck, back, knees, wrists, ankles and toes. No, I'm not old, I'm double jointed in most of my joints.

[AtaeruCDX]

Now the next time my mother complains about my knuckle cracking, I can definitely say it won't cause arthritis. Woo.

Now I just got to wait for the video about spine cracking.

[BlitzStudioz]

Wait... Then what if one of my joints can crack indefinitely without having to wait awhile?

[NMaster]

Ah, dude, every morning when I wake up, it's knuckles, then neck. I just cannot start my day without doing it.

[ravenlorans]

Rotating my neck either direction sounds like Rice Krispies after adding the milk, all day long to no end.

[AdamSinicki]

Anyone else noticed that the cracking tends to be louder for people who do it more often? What's going on there? That seems a little suspicious to me!

[FinanceDreaming]

Ive been cracking for 10 years, the only change I've noticed is my knuckles have increased in size which helps when throwing punches! It has also become way easier to crack. Before, it took about 10 hours between cracks. Then 8. Then 5. Then 3. Then 1. Then every 10 min. Damn. That's some major decrease on time!

[SinerAthin]

Sucks when you're attempting to sneak up on someone, then suddenly a joint in your arm goes:

CRACK!

[Sebgear]

I crack my knuckles a big amount of times (somewhere between 10 and 30 times) a day. Some people are bothered by this. Like my mother. I just don't seem to be able to convince her that it isn't bad for you.
However now I can let her watch this video, maybe that will help. Thank you so much for the helpful information btw. If I could I would subscribe several times more. But since I can't, I'll just have to like and favorite it.

[LaughingMan]

I crack my knees, neck, back, ankles, toes, fingers (thumbs too), wrists, elbows, and shoulders, most of which I can crack repeatedly. Also I used to be able to crack my jaw.

[Runite_Capes]

Cracking Knuckles Are Addicting After A While 

[gregoryviper]

I am from indonesia and its so standard for my family te knack our fingers that i can knack my whole body. Everybody in my space (I live in the Netherlands now) keep yelling its bad and I shouldn't do it. But I just can't stop doing it. Especially because I am am IT specialist and working with computers is getting my bones al tight up. I knack about 2 times an hour but only for my fingers. When I am at home from an hard day at work I do my whole body. My toes, my neck, my wrist, my neck, my back, my knees and elbows even the little bone between my ribbs I can knack. Its just so satisfied when I do it. I cant stop it. And now when I hear that its ok and it doesnt hurt me. I do it with even more pleasure!

[Kiadan]

I can crack my middle fingers about 40 times a minute. If I crack them and make a fist, I can crack it again.