Will cracking your knuckles really give you arthritis?

It definitely can hurt you. A 1999 Report in the Journal of Orthopedics gives two case reports of injuries following knuckle cracking.

Darn.
Well, what about my knee? It pops all by itself, no real forceful manipulation required. It will make that same cracking sound just by stretching and it will do it over and over again. That one worries me, also, because my other knee (which never cracks is now tracking wrong and causes me constant pain. So I suppose that's closer to what I wanted to know...Not so much forcefully making things crack, but when they naturally crack. My knuckles do that all the time.

Well as my anatomy teacher explained to me, its just a relief of gas from the joint... just like passing flatus.

Hey, look what I found using the 'Find' button!

As a habitual cracker, I've always been lectured on this, but am dubious as to the reality.

Yea, it's false. Cracking your knuckles is just releasing fluid that builds up in your joints.

as someone who has 6 types of arthritis since i was 9 i can tell you its 100% false - ask any rheumatologist - this is 100% myth

but can it be proven? or have they already? You could probably use imaging to see what happens.

quote:

Originally posted by br112:
Yea, it's false. Cracking your knuckles is just releasing fluid that builds up in your joints.

Yep, it's the same deal that happens when one pops bubbleplastic or the bladders on Seaweed..