I’m sure you’ve heard people tell you that you should stop cracking your knuckles so you don’t get arthritis. Is it true? The “popping” or “cracking” sound that happens when cracking your knuckles is caused by popping bubbles in your synovial fluid, which is responsible for lubricating your joints.
Current literature fails to support that acute or chronic knuckle cracking is harmful. One study found hand swelling and reduced grip strength more prevalent in knuckle crackers.
The current hypothesis as to why we hear a cracking sound is unclear. One mechanism is the thought that a bubble is formed in the joint space, and the popping of this bubble creates the audible noise. However a recent study used MRI to determine that the bubble remained within the joint after the sound production.
Although there are some grey areas in regards to where the sound comes from, we can currently say that literature supports cracking your knuckles as safe, unless it annoys the people around you!!
Source: Harvard Health Publishing
Title: Knuckle cracking: Annoying and harmful, or just annoying?
Read time: 5 mins