Here's what happens to your knuckles when you crack them

One man cracked his knuckles in one hand for 60 years and not the other. Watch the video to see what he found out.

There's a long-held myth that cracking your knuckles can damage your hands. The sound definitely might make people around you cringe, but what's making those noises, and is it actually bad for you?

There's a space in your joints filled with synovial fluid, a liquid that reduces the friction in your joints when you move. It contains gases (oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide).

When you pop a joint, you stretch out that space between the bones. That expanding space creates negative pressure, like a vacuum, that sucks in the synovial fluid. It forms bubbles, which then collapse, and that's what you hear.

Most medical sources agree that unless you experience pain when you pop your joints, you're probably fine to keep doing it. Researchers (including one man who cracked his knuckles on just one hand for 60 years) haven't established a connection between cracking your knuckles and arthritis.

One 1990 study of 300 people did find that cracking knuckles over a long period of time led to hand swelling and decreased grip strength, but there hasn't been any follow-up research on that.

[nelvianakenny]

Let's just have a moment for that man who did 60 years of that experiment.

[aniimosity]

I can’t be the only one who cracked their knuckles during this.

[cuberfred]

that man who cracked knuckles on just one hand and not on the other FOR 60 YEARS has surpassed the true test of patience.damn..

[ellie]

i love straightforward quick videos like this that just get straight to the point and don’t take 20 mins to talk about it

[astroash]

Major respect to the scientist who went 60 years without cracking the knuckles of one of his hands. I'd give in to temptation.

[GlassesnMouthplates]

60 years without cracking the other knuckle? That's both God-level dedication and self-control.

[zelvage]

Im impressed that one man didn't fall to the temptation of cracking both his hands

[Kepk]

As a chronic sufferer of hand knuckle popping, I'm more relieved at the findings of these tests.

[utkarshgajal]

This is how a video should be short and descriptive at the same time.

[carterskindle]

That man that dedicated 60 years of his life to this is a pure legend.

[Karthik_Mk]

'Imagine the satisfaction he got from cracking the other hand after 60 years"

[italias.]

Me being that one kid in class who cracks everything when it's quiet👄👀

[alexandriaking]

I’ve been cracking my knuckles for such a long time now. It’s gotten to the point that my hands feel weird when I don’t crack them.

[Bvklenz]

I bet it felt good cracking his nuckles 60 years later

[Moneygetjealous]

The best cracks are in the morning when you wake up and all your joints are begging to be crack. But the best cracks is when you crack your upper back all the way down to your lower back. Popping your back feels amazing every time.

[alexanderjefferies]

I’m a professional pianist and was a habitual joint clicker in my high school years. I decided to kick the habit for good (which was really hard to do) before going to music school. Within 3 weeks I immediately saw results and my finger strength improved massively. Joint clicking might not necessarily be bad at least with the current knowledge we have but I found after kicking the habit after 5 years of doing it my fingers got stronger and more agile with far better control at the piano.

[ohkf]

“there is still a chance its still not good for you”


everyone: what

[setos]

“Is cracking you knuckles bad for you”

Short answer: yes, but actually no

[MrBrccli-]

my whole class cracked their knuckles at once in math class😂

[kuyajolo]

i cracked my brothers neck im wondering why he's still sleeping.