Some people feel that the cracking or popping of their knuckles makes their joints feel a little better. Maybe it helps to relieve some stress that they have in their daily lives. Or may be it is just a bad habit that they cannot break. But there are people out there that are telling their family or friends to stop cracking or popping their knuckles. Because they feel you can cause arthritis in your joints or you will get big knuckles. Is this really the case? Here is a short description of what arthritis is and how cracking your knuckles work.
Arthritis – Arthritis is the inflammation of the tissues around your joints. Some of the symptoms of arthritis include joint pain and you have a hard time moving around. You may have some swelling or stiffness in your joints. There may also be times when you feel some sort of redness or warmth to the joint or joints involved.
Knuckle Cracking or Popping – In your joints there are two bones that come together and are covered by a cartilage layer which is then covered by a capsule. Inside the capsule you have something called synovial fluid which is used as a lubricant to help the joint. The synovial fluid contains gases which are called oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. When you precede to crack or pop your knuckles there is a pressure that is released inside that capsule. The capsule will only expand a certain amount depending on the synovial fluid in that joint. This synovial fluid is what will release the oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. When these gases are released, it will allow for you to hear that annoying cracking or popping sound.
Even though you may not get arthritis from cracking your knuckles, you may want to think twice about popping or cracking those knuckles. You might have an increased chance of having swollen joints, and an increased chance of not being able to grab a hold of an object like you use to. You also take a chance that you could damage some of the tissues or ligaments in and around that area.
If you feel that you may be experiencing other problems in your joints than what the cracking or popping of your knuckles may be causing you. Then set yourself up for an appointment with your doctor. There are a variety of other forms of arthritis that might be causing you those problems.
Sources:
http://osteoarthritis.about.com/od/osteoarthritis101/f/crack_knuckles.htm
http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/Arthritis/default.asp
