Cracking knuckles will cause them to swell permanently?

[Elise]

Just wondering if anyone knows whether this is indeed true or if it''s a mere old wives'' tale. When I was younger, I used to love the sound of my knuckles cracking and persisted in doing it despite my mum warning me that it would make them bigger. Now that I''m older, I''ve stopped this habit but I''ve noticed that my knuckles are significantly bigger than the rest of my fingers! Does anyone have the same experience?

 

[Erin]

That''s so funny - we were talking about this at golf last night...

The study focused on 300 habitual knuckle crackers and found no evidence linking knuckle cracking and arthritis. Chronic crackers did suffer other harm, including soft tissue damage and loss of grip strength. This damage is usually minor,

found at howstuffworks

 

[Harriet]

I've been cracking my knuckles all my life (heck, I even crack the toe equivalents), and they don't appear disproportionate to my fingers.

 

[Elise]

Thanks for your response girls! I was just thinking about this while getting a massage earlier and I noticed the masseuse didn''t pull on my fingers to "crack" my knuckles like the other masseuses I''ve had used to.

A wee bit of consolation to know that my disproportionate knuckes are not directly caused by my childhood habit!

 

[snlee]

Where did you find that SDL? Is it from a reliable source? If so, that''s good new for knuckle crackers! I crack mine once in a while...I sure hope I''m not doing any damage! I don''t notice anything so far.

 

[Sparkster]

It''s an old wives'' tale. This was found on the ninemsn website health section

Wives'' Tales - Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis
Cracking your knuckles won''t cause arthritis. The awful popping sound you hear is caused when you pull on your finger, pulling the knuckle joints apart. That breaks the vacuum in the joint and bubbles of nitrogen gas form in the joint fluid. The cracking noise happens when those bubbles collapse.

 

[Harriet]

Incidentally, what are the toe equivalents called?

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/12/2007 6:34:38 PM
Author: Harriet
Incidentally, what are the toe equivalents called?

LOL, I don''t know?

 

[Harriet]

I just found out. Nothing interesting, just "PIP joints."

 

[door knob solitaire]

Well...If it is actually air escaping...or gas expanding...it has to be a tootsie toot-see.

DKS

 

[diamondfan]

I think it is part myth but in part it is true, since the joint gets inflammed. I am also not sure if it leads to issues, like type pain or movement limitations. I am so glad you have stopped, it is one of those noises that makes me crazy like gum popping and it is not a pretty sight!!

 

[monarch64]

I definitely think it''s an old wives'' tale. I''ve played piano for hmmm... 20-some years now and ALWAYS have to crack my knuckles before playing, sometimes during. My knuckles are no larger at ae 30 than they were at age 20, this I know because I''ve worn the same ring size since my teens. Maybe I''ll get back to this thread sometime later in life, say, age 80, and I''ll let you know if my knuckles really did suffer from cracking them, lol!

 

[Elise]

hehe.. is cracking your knuckles a warm up to piano playing? if so, maybe i should try it! the older i get, the stiffer my joints are and the worse my piano skills become.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 7/13/2007 2:18:49 AM
Author: Elise
hehe.. is cracking your knuckles a warm up to piano playing? if so, maybe i should try it! the older i get, the stiffer my joints are and the worse my piano skills become.

Well, it always has been for me, lol! Also, there are special "putty" type substances you can use and re-use to work your hands before playing. I never did get any, but I remember in grade school the boy who took lessons right after me would always come in and do a little hand workout with that stuff as I was finishing my lesson. It''s sort of the same substance as silly putty, only harder, like clay. Still I find cracking the knuckles helps quite a bit, and on particularly stiff days lots of Hannons help as well although i don''t always have the time nor patience to do many!

 

[divergrrl]

I asked an orthopedic surgeon (who was examining my feet...I have dancer feet pretty bad.....) if this was so & he laughed & said "no, cracking knuckles is only annoying to those around you".

HTH