OFFICIAL Joint cracking thread

[scrawnypaleguy]

I try not to do the knuckles, although I do somtimes. I have a little routine that I do usually every morning when I wake up. Crack my neck first by leaning to one side and the other, then finishing the job by twisting my head with my hands left and right (sometimes I do this in public and I get a very good reaction from people around me ). Then I'll crack my back while sitting down by twisting myself around. Then I crack my hips while i'm standing up, and then I'll plant my feet and twist to get the ankles and knees going. Then there's the basic elbow and wrist cracking. So, basically, every joint in my body.

 

[Atheus]

Oh THAT kind of joint... i thought you meant putting coke in a reefer...

You know you do it.

 

[gabemcg]

.

 

[krcat1]

Joint cracking is:

1 Poorly researched by serious researchers, in spite of about 25% of pop doing it.

2 Cause by:
a Either N2 or CO2 gas escaping from the synovial fluid of the joint.
When the joint is flex beyond a point, an empty space is created in the joint, which the gas fills.
The pop is 2 sounds, one of the gas bubble forming and the joint capsule snapping.
It take appox. 20 minutes for the gas to be reabsorbed in order to repop.
b The joint tendons rubbing against one another or the bone. If you repeatedly and rapidly crack a joint, this what is happening.

3 Damage assessment:
a Arthritis is inconclusive.
b Most injures are acute (tearing the joint elements when you crack it)
c There is a possiblity of weakening hand grip strength. This is due to over-extending the ligaments.

I have tried to stop cracking my knuckles. I can crack them about 100 times in a row by slowly forming a fist. ( The above was x-credit for A&P I. ).

 

[gabemcg]

Originally posted by: gabemcg

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage
If I had the balls I would start a Joint Rolling thread to compliment this.. alas, I have no balls.

great minds... I guess I've got the balls, it won't be a parody, it will be a serious disccussion...

lol, that was quick...

 

[Baked]

That's disgusting. Only fingers and big toes.

 

[enyce2k9]

Originally posted by: Coquito
Cracking my chest after a long nap is always invigorating.

lmao that sounds painfull

 

[MetalMat]

I crack my ears

 

[Papagayo]

Best way to crack your back..

lay down on your back with knees bent.
Place your hands on your theigh and push down.

Best feeling when you hear like 4 or 5 pops..
You also feel like you grew an inch..

 

[Atomicus]

Fingers
knuckles
wrist (only left)
neck
elbow
knees
groin/tailbone (hard to distinguish which is which when cracked, it just feels good)
toes
ankles

 

[MaxDepth]

I am soooo twisted...

I get up every morning and:
1) If I slept on my right side, I've probably compacted the shooulder. Flex arm outward and roll it clockwise. If it stiffens at the 9 o'clock postion, then I fold my arm at the elbow, finger tips touching the shoulder. Swing the 'wing' from back to front. It should pop the cartilage. Do it repeatedly until it stops popping.
2) Sit up on edge of bed. Twist at the waist to pop the lower back.
3) Still sitting, take both in the wing postion as mentioned in #1 and try to touch the elbows behgind the back. This should pop the sternum.
4) Get up. Place both feet on the floor and tip-toe in place. Do so repeatedly until the ankles stop cracking or you get tired of doing it.
5) Place right foot firmly on floor and lock the leg in place. Twist the rest of the body with the left knee swing over the right. This will pop the right knee cap.

Now I'm ready to do my morning exercises...



EDIT: I no longer pop my knuckles or my neck because of the same reasons krcat1 gave, as told to me by a friend in sports medicine.

 

[Fritzo]

My toe cracks with every step when I walk barefoot on a solid surface. It's like I'm wearing taps or something

 

[LeiZaK]

You know how we do.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I can make my neck crack like firecrackers....freaks people out.

 

[Steve]

I lie flat on my back, put my hands behind my head, and push up and forward. Straight, then to the left and right. Several good cracks in the neck. I also put either hand on the side of my jaw and push my head up and to the side for some good neck cracks.

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: enyce2k9

Originally posted by: Coquito
Cracking my chest after a long nap is always invigorating.

lmao that sounds painfull

After sleeping on your side all night, you feel tightness in your chest(not a heat attack, yet). Pull your shoulder back & down while thrusting your chest foward. I get a large pop, followed by some crackle. It happens more often if you've done alot of lifting or push-ups the night before.

 

[TallBill]

We've already had a joint cracking thread. ANyways.

I can crack both knuckles in every finger, my wrists if I rotate them, my elbows if i fully extend them, my neck if I wrench on my head with both hands, my hips very occasionally when walking (painful!), my knees when I bend them, my ankles just by rotating, and about half of my toes from moving them around.

Just about the only joint that doesn't crack or pop is my shoulders.

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: glugglug
How does one crack their chest?

Both your hands on the middle of the chest, basically where the chestbone ends, and press, hard. Don't be afraid if it hurts at first P), it'll get better over time.. It hurt me the first four or five times, but after that it's just cool.

 

[glugglug]

Originally posted by: Atomicus
Fingers
knuckles
wrist (only left)
neck
elbow
knees
groin/tailbone (hard to distinguish which is which when cracked, it just feels good)
toes
ankles

WTF?

 

[shimsham]

crack free

 

[Al Neri]

now what i want to know is... what determines the gap in time between being able to crack and not being able to crack your knuckles... can you reduce/eliminate that gap?

 

[glugglug]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
now what i want to know is... what determines the gap in time between being able to crack and not being able to crack your knuckles... can you reduce/eliminate that gap?

I have zero gap time. I simply pull the fingers out of the sockets and they crack. knuckles can be cracked repeatedly by twisting to the side. Can also crack knees and hips in similar fashion. Neck is more iffy, and shoulders are painful.

 

[krcat1]

Originally posted by: glugglug

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
now what i want to know is... what determines the gap in time between being able to crack and not being able to crack your knuckles... can you reduce/eliminate that gap?

I have zero gap time. I simply pull the fingers out of the sockets and they crack. knuckles can be cracked repeatedly by twisting to the side. Can also crack knees and hips in similar fashion. Neck is more iffy, and shoulders are painful.

What you are doing is rubbing the tendons over the bone and other parts of the joint.

Pulling the joint out of socket is a good wave to pop the joint, but also a good way to injure the connective tissue around the joint.

The time gap is the time needed for the CO2/N2 to be reabsorbed into the joint fluid.
But you also can crack by rubbing tendons.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Both thumbs.

 

[Anubis]

i can crack about every joint in my body