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Why is cracking one’s knuckles (and other joints) so addictive?

Why Knuckle Cracking is Fascinating

There are two types of people in this world — the knuckle (and perhaps back, neck and other joint) crackers who indulge in this habit on a regular, if not daily basis, and those who have to put up with it.

Joint crackers defend themselves by saying that they find great satisfaction or even release in pushing, pulling or bending fingers, knuckles or other joints until they pop.

While onlookers tend to find it either a) revolting, b) unnerving, c) plain annoying or d) all of the above. 

The thing is, nothing those in this camp say seems to make a difference to those who choose to revel in this joint cracking therapy. Neither do dire warnings from friends and family that a lifetime of cracking could damage the joint. Instead, those poppers just keep on popping.

What Causes the Popping Sound When You Crack Your Knuckles?

After nearly 100 years of mystery and various theories, we seem to be getting closer to a definitive explanation for the distinctive noise produced by the cracking process. 

That’s thanks to curious École Polytechnique graduate student, Vineeth Chandran Suja (a veteran knuckle cracker) and Dr Abdul Barakat, who together developed mathematical equations to describe the sound of knuckles cracking. 

Their findings, which were published in the journal, Scientific Reports, confirmed that each joint is lubricated by synovial fluid. The presence of this fluid helps to facilitate optimal joint/bone movement and comfort. 

Suja and Barakat compared a recording of popping sounds from the model joint that had a bubble in its surrounding fluid with the noise from their own knuckles and found that the two were very similar. 

The pair concluded that the knuckle cracking sound comes from a partial collapse of bubbles in the synovial fluid. 

Why Do People Crack Their Knuckles – And Is It Harmful?

That’s the big question. 

Well, a combination of nervous habits and stress relief could be part of the picture. 

But, it’s believed that joint manipulation also stimulates nerve endings and this action relaxes the muscles surrounding the joint, so crackers may feel momentarily more mobile in that joint. 

In the hands of an expert, research has proven that manipulation and mobilization are likely to reduce pain and improve function (this is especially the case for patients with chronic low back pain). But when left to the self-proclaimed crackers, overly forceful cracking can injure the joint. 

Habitual knuckle-cracking has been rumoured to cause the onset of arthritis. However several studies have failed to demonstrate a solid link. 

For example this late 1998 study, which saw one doctor crack his knuckles on his left hand at least twice a day for 50 years but not on his right hand, found that after half a century, he did not develop arthritis in either hand. 

A later 2011 study came to a similar conclusion: that the risk of developing arthritis is roughly the same, whether a person chooses to crack their knuckles or not. 

How to Care for Your Joints Without Cracking Them

Let’s face it, we only get one body to live in. So we should all be caring for our joints as much as possible, as they are essential to maintaining full mobility, enabling us to work, rest and play. 

Therefore, I would advise against cracking your knuckles and other joints, like your back, neck, ankles or knees. But if you must, be (very, very) gentle!

Instead, try to: 

  • Maintain an appropriate body weight to help reduce excess and unwanted pressure on the joints.
  • Eat a balanced diet to ensure you get enough calcium to keep your bones healthy and vitamin D to help your body absorb calcium.
  • Stay hydrated, as drinking enough water is essential for keeping your joints well lubricated. 
  • Take regular, low-impact exercise such as walking, cycling and swimming to help keep joints healthy, reduce stiffness and minimise the risk of injury. 
  • Strength train by building up the muscles surrounding the joints so they can better support you and act as a shock absorber. In an ideal world, according to the NHS’ physical activity guidelines for adults**, we should all be aiming to complete strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups at least two days a week. A gym instructor or personal fitness trainer can help you with this.
  • Stretch every day, to facilitate flexibility and free movement of your joints.

 

When to See an Osteopath About Joint Pain

If you are experiencing pains in any of your joints, give my North London Osteopathy clinic a call on 020 8815 0979 or request an appointment. 

I can assess you thoroughly and provide a personalised treatment plan, including exercises and guidance on preventing injury and making the most of your body.

 It may or may not include ‘cracking’ depending on patient preference and requirements!

Osteopathy and Therapies at Our Clinic

Learn More

*Why people do it

**Activity guidelines

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Perrin Technique

Dear Robin,

I have been meaning to write an actual letter/ card to you to thank you for ages now, and I maybe one day I will actually go into a shop and remember to buy a stamp, and will find an open shop that sells cards! But seeing as it might be a while until that day comes, I wanted to write and thank you sooner, via email, for your support through mine and F’s covid recovery.

It was so kind of you to treat F for free and to have such compassion and kindness for both of us through such a challenging time in our lives. Your support gave us such hope and fortitude in the face of fear.

We both appreciated the regular comfort of a visit to your calming clinic and then subsequent feelings of health and vitality that followed.

We are both doing well. There are still some challenging days but overall we are so much better. I would have liked to finish treatment with you to full completion but unfortunately as you know, I had to prioritise other things. We are both taking care and continuing with Perrin technique.

Wishing you all the best and thank you again for your kindness and compassion for us in such difficult times.

A & F

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CFS/ME recovery

Robin was recommended to me by Dr Perrin. The treatment has made me realise how important it is to calm down my sympathetic nervous system in order to overcome chronic fatigue. Robin has achieved this. He is an excellent osteopath and a sympathetic practitioner

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Perrin Technique

In April 2020, I was feeling the post viral effects of likely Covid and felt I had nowhere to turn to for support from a health and well-being perspective. My GP practice still remains phone consultations only and I was frustrated that my health wasn’t improving. I had crippling fatigue, strange neurological symptoms, insomnia, dizziness and many other symptoms following the acute viral phase. Luckily, I did some research and learned the Perrin Technique might be beneficial and found Robin as a practitioner online. I started regular sessions with him and was grateful for the holistic advice, confirmed at Consultation that I had post viral fatigue that mirrors Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and started my Perrin technique sessions weekly. I am not 100% yet back to normal but I feel it’s been a beneficial journey so far. I also feel empowered that I have a way of helping my recovery beyond resting and healthy eating
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Really struggling and miserable with sciatica during the pandemic

“Really struggling and miserable with sciatica during the pandemic. From the moment I contacted Robin, things improved. The surgery is spotless and sanitised after every patient, every care is taken to mitigate against Covid.. felt very confident at a difficult time when I was reluctant to contact anybody ! The programme that Robin delivered brought immediate relief and over a course of treatment I am now better 🤞I’m so grateful to Robin for taking the pain and misery away”

Cheryl

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an entirely different, holistic, approach

Dear Robin

I mentioned to you that I had suddenly reflected that you, through your skills, have greatly enhanced my quality of life. As you know, I had been to osteopaths before and had ended up going for treatment every four to six weeks or when things got difficult. The attitude seemed to be that I had a crocked-up body (a car crash, a fall) and that was that. Osteopathy seemed to serve to alleviate the hopeless symptoms. The osteopath was a fireman.

By luck, I was recommended to you and found an entirely different, holistic, approach. It was, to begin with, disturbingly collaborative. You wanted to know about the whole person and you wanted me to articulate how I felt, where the pain was, how it came and went and so forth. You wanted to know about my life and how it affected me; You wanted me to describe discomfort and tell the story. You were alarmingly perceptive and sometimes told me that I was presenting as being depressed, preoccupied or whatever. You invited me in to the process in a slightly intimidating way. You made me tell my story.

It certainly helps. You use a variety of techniques with a far greater emphasis on massage and a lesser dependence on manipulation. Your range of skills includes acupuncture (needles and laser!). You use your skills to accompany me on my journey.

If this approach is a common one, it was new to me. I found it disconcerting for a while, but I certainly found that it was effective.

So it was that, one day, I found myself taking a tube journey to a French Class in South Kensington. A tube journey that seemed less fatiguing than usual. I was carrying bags that I would have had difficulty carrying before and I felt fine. In the past I would have spent most of the next day lying down having made that journey, carrying those bags of books and papers. It would have created serious fatigue and back pain – instead, I was a little tired as any normal man of my age might be. I was back (no pun). For this, I thank you, and want to express my great gratitude to you. Bless you, dear Robin.

Christopher

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Lower Back Pain

I went to see Robin in his East Finchley “The Twyford Practice” with a bad lower back pain that left me unable even to walk properly.

Robin was extremely professional and highly knowledgeable, with a friendly conversational manner that helped to put myself at ease at a time when I was suffering from quite a lot of pain; he is an excellent osteopath and a very nice person.

Robin also treated me with an acupuncture and low level laser therapy, which helped a lot for my recovery.
I would highly recommend Robin without hesitation to anyone.

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Dancer’s Knee Pain

I wanted to thank you for the treatment last week. I can’t believe how good I have felt this week. Honestly feels like a miracle with the pain i was in before I saw you. I have told my whole cast that if they suffer with any injuries etc they need to see you!
I’m so grateful to you that I can now perform my show pain free. Thank you so much
If I’m ever close by again I will try and see you.
Thanks again Robin
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Look after your knees – and they’ll look after you!

Happy, healthy kneesRunner’s knee, jumper’s knee, housemaid’s knee (yes, it does exist!) and so on – the list of painful complaints that can affect this complicated joint is as long as your arm. Problem knees are surprisingly common in people of all ages, placing severe restrictions on both movement and lifestyle as a whole.

Strong and stable joints

On a day-to-day basis, we expect great things from our knees. As the largest joint in the human body, the knee basically forms a sort of hinge  where the thigh bone (femur) and shin bone (tibia), meet. This enables the leg to bend, straighten and generally move freely so we can run, twist, jump, fall over and so on. Knees must be also strong and stable enough to support our weight, even if it increases. These joints are ably assisted in their task by bones and soft tissue including muscles, cartilage, ligaments and tendons – all of which have the potential to go awry.

The knee joint may be a sophisticated mechanism but it’s still relatively easy to injure. For example, a sudden increase in intensity or duration of exercise can temporarily damage the bone, muscle or ligaments. Problem knees can lock, click, catch, give way or refuse to straighten. More gradually developing pain, especially in older people, points to conditions such as osteoarthritis. Here, the cartilage facilitating smooth movement between the femur and tibia gradually wears away, forcing both surfaces to rub together and resulting in pain and stiffness.

It’s all a bit of a catch-22. With persistent knee pain, most people’s instinct is to rest the knee and avoid putting any weight on the joint, therefore taking less exercise. While this would appear to be a sensible thing to do, if not diagnosed and treated, long-term weakness of the surrounding leg muscles can slowly develop.

Looking after problem knees

So, what should you do if you suddenly develop painful knees? Here are a few initial things that you can try at home:

  • The key is basically RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. This means, at the very least, not irritating the joint and, at best, giving the joint a chance to recover under its own steam;
  • When icing, use ice wrapped in a wet towel for 5 minutes and remove for 10 minutes, repeating twice more;
  • Sit, rather than stand, with the leg elevated, to avoid putting weight on the knee – rest as much as you can;
  • If suffering with acute or severe pain, in the short term, take painkillers such as Paracetamol;
  • If you feel up to it, try some gentle exercise, such as walking at a pace that does not aggravate your symptoms or non-weight bearing exercise such as swimming;
  • If your knee pain is still present after several days or is getting worse, why not book an appointment with Osteopath Robin Kiashek to see if we can find the cause of your discomfort and get you back on the road to recovery.
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Hip Pain & Anxiety

I was initially referred to Robin by my personal trainer because of a crippling knee and hip pain. As an individual who suffered with anxiety, I was extremely nervous to meet him but his approachable nature instantly eased my worries.  He diagnosed me with tendinitis and a snapping hip and over the weeks as he treated my injuries, the pain eased off and I found myself able to do things I was previously unable to do. I believe Robin is truly one of a kind in his field; irrespective of my anxieties, he was able to make me feel safe and comfortable. He showed genuine concern and interest in me and my life. I opened up to him about my struggles with diabetes and anxiety. After this, he suggested I try Autogenic Training with him to see if this would help tame my anxiety and stabilise my diabetes. Because of my anxiety disorder, I have struggled to do everyday things like taking the tube, answering my phone when an unknown number rings, eating around other people and leaving my house. As I progressed through the autogenic training course, I found myself being able to cope with taking the tube, I was able to push myself in social situations, and I felt more comfortable when leaving my house. Autogenic training has helped me throw my anxiety in the backseat and as a result has stabilised my blood sugar levels, making diabetes easier to control. Robin has given me all of the tools and support to conquer my anxiety and for that I am forever grateful.

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