Does knuckle cracking cause permanent damage?

[shilala]

My daughter cracks her knuckles all the time. It's been a wonderful habit that she's been at for a lot of years now (she's 13).
Does constant knuckle cracking cause permanent damage, or is it merely grating on the nerves?
It has the same effect on me that fingernails on a chalkboard has on people.

 

[BigJ]

From what my Drs have told me, it's an old wives tale.

 

[QuitBanningMe]

no

 

[MikeMike]

ive heard it can cause arthritis.

but i dunno about long term studies lol

MIKE

 

[Kalvin00]

No.

 

[Ryan]

yeah - old wives tale

 

[FoBoT]

nope, old wives tail

 

[mobobuff]

No, but it might make the person sitting next to you punch you right in the face. So I guess in a roundabout manor, it could be harmful to your health.

 

[aircooled]

no. it's personal chiropractic medicine.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

You can wear out your knuckles, yes.

 

[SynthDude2001]

I certainly hope not.

 

[LASTGUY2GETPS2]

I guess I shouldn't crack my back either....

 

[BW86]

No, it doesn't cause any damage.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: Nik
You can wear out your knuckles, yes.

Can cracking knuckles cause arthritis?
There is no evidence that cracking one's knuckles can cause arthritis directly. However, repeated injury of a joint or repeatedly causing it to swell can injure the cartilage and potentially lead to degenerative joint disease.

http://www.orthop.washington.edu/uw/tab...emID__179/mid__0/Articles/Default.aspx

 

[aircooled]

Originally posted by: Nik
You can wear out your knuckles, yes.

it's not friction, it's bubbles popping

 

[Jeraden]

Well, I'm 31 and I've been cracking my knuckles since I was like 15. I don't really have any major permanent damage. Although there are a couple knuckles I do think I damaged at some point because I get pain if I try to crack them by squeezing them inward, its the middle joint on my right index and middle fingers. The index finger I can't bend enough to crack without it really hurting. The middle I can still crack that way, but it kind of hurts. However it doesn't really affect any other type of activity, so I just crack them via other methods. Its quite addictive really, I probably do it every hour or so.

The other thing is, they've become extremely easy to crack over the years. I can do pretty much every joint on every finger without using the other hand.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: aircooled

Originally posted by: Nik
You can wear out your knuckles, yes.

it's not friction, it's bubbles popping

My cat pops from time to time.

 

[MrYAK]

Originally posted by: Nik
You can wear out your knuckles on my face.

is that what you really meant to say?

 

[Howard]

I don't know, but I stopped anyway.

 

[Deleted member 139972]

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[aplefka]

Your DAUGHTER?! I hope she doesn't do it in public. That seems like a rather masculine thing to do. Not saying that's bad, but at 13 you'd think she'd worry more about how her hair looked or something.

 

[isasir]

I asked a doc years ago and he said 'no'

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
nope, old wives tail

 

[Looney]

No, i asked my doc as well, and he said no. If it does lead to arthritis, then i'm in serious trouble... i'm always cracking my fingers, spine, neck, shoulders, etc.

 

[Crescent13]

No. My chiropractor even said no. I crack my knuckles all the time and nothing has happened so far.