Does cracking your knuckles everday do any damage?

[Doc Hef]

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This is a similar thread to my last one..
But I'm also wondering if you can do any damage by cracking your knuckles everyday. Mom always said that it would cause arthritis, but everyone says that was just a joke. So does it do anything. I know we aren't taught HVLA on our fingers (at least I haven't been), so I guess there really shouldn't be any dysfunction that I need to be taking care of by popping them all the time. Any benefit? Any harm?

 

[brodaiga]

This is a similar thread to my last one..
But I'm also wondering if you can do any damage by cracking your knuckles everyday. Mom always said that it would cause arthritis, but everyone says that was just a joke. So does it do anything. I know we aren't taught HVLA on our fingers (at least I haven't been), so I guess there really shouldn't be any dysfunction that I need to be taking care of by popping them all the time. Any benefit? Any harm?

from the articles that I read, knuckle cracking does not lead to arthritis or any other ailments.

 

[Doc Hef]

What about being hypermobile? I can crack my knuckles 50 times a day without thinking about it, but if my dad tried to crack a knuckle - he would have to almost break his finger in two. Why can one person train their knuckles to pop so much?

 

[raspberry swirl]

we were taught in one of our classes, i forget which one, that popping/cracking joints is, in fact, very bad for your joints. but unfortunately, i can't remember why

 

[Doc Hef]

You serious? Don't remember them teaching us that. But how would they teach us that popping/craching joints is very bad and then we turn around and pop and crack each others joints in OMM?

 

[Lefty]

We were taught that the more you "pop" a joint (on a regular basis) the more lax the tendons and ligaments become, therefore making it easier to "pop" them more often.

If you know of any articles regarding these issues please post them.

Lefty

 

[raspberry swirl]

You serious? Don't remember them teaching us that. But how would they teach us that popping/craching joints is very bad and then we turn around and pop and crack each others joints in OMM?

i am serious. it was one of the clinicians, and i think it was during H&P week.

 

[closertofine]

I pop my back at least once a day, usually at night right before I go to sleep...I have to pop a lot of the vertebrae on each side to feel like I can lie down comfortably. I wonder if this is due to the fact that one of my legs is slightly shorter than the other (as was pointed out to me on an X-ray once)...and I guess my back gets kind of out of alignment? (I had scoliosis as a kid, and I guess it's not completely gone). Hopefully the popping isn't hurting my back in the long run...I'd be interested in hearing what you all know about this, though.

 

[daria]

Ditto on the back-cracking... have always been curious and slightly worried about this. For me it all started after lifting too much weight on my right side only, while working on my house. When I went to the doctor for back pain, he told me I'd "rotated my hips around my spine", and showed me how to "rotate them back". Unfortunately, I still have to do this numerous times per day. My primary care doc (a DO, who rocks by the way) says that it shouldn't be harmful, but she doesn't seem all that convinced.

I'd also love any pointers to hard science on this subject.

 

[coreyw]

I pop my back at least once a day, usually at night right before I go to sleep...I have to pop a lot of the vertebrae on each side to feel like I can lie down comfortably. I wonder if this is due to the fact that one of my legs is slightly shorter than the other (as was pointed out to me on an X-ray once)...and I guess my back gets kind of out of alignment? (I had scoliosis as a kid, and I guess it's not completely gone). Hopefully the popping isn't hurting my back in the long run...I'd be interested in hearing what you all know about this, though.

It sounds like ASL or apparent short-leg.... caused by sacro-iliac dysfunction. Very common. Actual short leg is quite rare.

The need to 'pop' your back (which bit) probably stems from a hypomobility somewhere along the line. Accurate manipulative therapy should decrease the feeling of needing to self-adjust yourself. This need is also linked to stress.

Over-manipulating (which nobody can really define in a general sense) may lead to some joint instability, which is why it's wise to combine HVT with other techniques, including muscle strengthening and to try to get at the root cause of the hypomoobility in the first place.

Often when you self-manipulate you're moving a facet joint that is hypermobile as a result of an adjacent fixated joint.

With knuckles, it's best to pull them rather than push. Leads to less pain. And best to advise patients not to self-manipulate... they usually miss and is makes it worse. Prescribing relaxation or stress management techniques (and just plain being aware that they're cracking!) is worth a heap of good.

 

[coreyw]

Ditto on the back-cracking... have always been curious and slightly worried about this. For me it all started after lifting too much weight on my right side only, while working on my house. When I went to the doctor for back pain, he told me I'd "rotated my hips around my spine", and showed me how to "rotate them back". Unfortunately, I still have to do this numerous times per day. My primary care doc (a DO, who rocks by the way) says that it shouldn't be harmful, but she doesn't seem all that convinced.

I'd also love any pointers to hard science on this subject.

A very good review in in the JAOA below. Available online at http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/reprint/102/5/283

Protopapas MG, Cymet TC & Protapapas MG. 2002. 'Joint cracking and popping: understanding noises that accompany articular release.' J Am Osteopath Assoc. May;102(5):283-7.

Articular release is a physiologic event that may or may not be audible. It is seen in patients with healthy joints as well as those with somatic dysfunction. After an articular release, there is a difference in joint spacing-with the release increasing the distance between articular surfaces. Not all noise that emanates from a joint signifies an articular release. A hypothesis about the noise that frequently accompanies this release is offered and includes anatomic, physiologic, and functional models of articular release. Repeated performance of articular release may decrease the occurrence of arthritis. Potential problems from repeated articular release (eg, hypermobility) are also examined.