Do you crack your knuckles?

I sure do. I've been doing it for just about as long as I can remember. I've heard that I'll get arthritis, my joints will swell up, and all that jazz. However, I'm addicted to it, and I know it.

Here's the list:
19 in each hand
2 in each wrist
1 extra in my left wrist
1 in each elbow
1 in my right shoulder
2 in each knee
1 extra in my left knee
2 in my neck
3 in each ankle
1 for each toe
1 in my jaw

And also some multiple pops:
A bunch for my spine
A bunch for my eardrums (equalizing pressure)

All of these are voluntary, even the eardrum ones. The grand total is 72 cracks, plus the two multiple cracks in my spine and ears.

My wife does it and it drives me nuts, but I put up with it because I am a flashaholic which drives her nuts. It's a beautiful relationship.

The answer is yes, and I'm fairly certain that cracking joints has nothing to do with arthritis. A joint pops because a small air bubble pops within the joint. One of my favorites is to torque my lower spine while laying in bed. I do it gently and it is really relaxing. It's no different than stretching a muscle in my opinion.

Arthritis is an inflamation caused by the body's attack on itself--I'm not sure why.

just about everything cracks here...

I fell last Saturday and cracked my whole body (really only ACL tear and broken hand LOL) boy did I hear cracks

I was a cop. Took a pretty serious tumble down a hill while wrestling with a bad guy. Nothing was "officially" broken but ever since my wrist, and right leg (hip, knee, ankle) all pop and crackle like a bowl of rice crispies.

I was just reminded of this - has anyone seen the Simpsons episode called "Skinner's Sense of Snow," where Principal Skinner, Bart, and some other kids are snowed in at school? At one point, Bart says that because of all the after-school writing on the chalkboard he's had to do, his wrist sounds like a cement mixer - he immediately demonstrates it, and it does.

I'm glad I don't sound like THAT.

My knuckle-cracking used to really get on my dad's nerves, but I think he's gotten used to it over the years. I do try to cut down when I'm around him.

Yes, right before rolling the dice, shuffling the cards or counting the cash.

Nope.. never have. I don't think I could do it if I tried. For me it's like trying to whistle with two fingers in my mouth - I can't do that either.

Crack, Pop, . . .Yes I do and I "hear" it's not good for you. Them acid bubbles is what makes that "popping" noise. . .

Good for you, PW! Because "once you pop, the fun don't stop." Like I said in my OP, I'm addicted. If I'm around someone who hates it and have to wait, I'll twiddle my fingers, press my palms together, anything to keep from doing it. It's pretty hard!

Lightraven said:

The answer is yes, and I'm fairly certain that cracking joints has nothing to do with arthritis. A joint pops because a small air bubble pops within the joint. One of my favorites is to torque my lower spine while laying in bed. I do it gently and it is really relaxing. It's no different than stretching a muscle in my opinion.

Arthritis is an inflamation caused by the body's attack on itself--I'm not sure why.

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Exactly! It is not bad to pop your fingers. I would assume it is the same for other places but am not sure.

And yes I can point my fingers in 28 places and then my neck and stuff.

TigerhawkT3 said:

Good for you, PW! Because "once you pop, the fun don't stop." Like I said in my OP, I'm addicted. If I'm around someone who hates it and have to wait, I'll twiddle my fingers, press my palms together, anything to keep from doing it. It's pretty hard!

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Is it actually fun? From my perspective it sounds like it hurts!

PhotonWrangler said:

Is it actually fun? From my perspective it sounds like it hurts!

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It's like sneezing. If you think you need to but can't seem to do it, it's really irritating, but if you sneeze/push too hard, you'll hurt something. However, I think that the urge to do it is psychological instead of physical.

TigerhawkT3 said:

It's like sneezing. If you think you need to but can't seem to do it, it's really irritating, but if you sneeze/push too hard, you'll hurt something. However, I think that the urge to do it is psychological instead of physical.

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Ok, I understand now. Thanks, Tigerhawk.

Besides "popping/cracking" my knuckles, I'm able to do so with my neck, back, (although my chiropracticing lady friend gets irritated knowing I do that), I can pop my shoulders which sounds like a branch breaking. It feels good to me, though frightens people when I do that. More like a temporary dislocation of both shoulders. . .:huh:

CHC said:

Besides "popping/cracking" my knuckles, I'm able to do so with my neck, back, (although my chiropracticing lady friend gets irritated knowing I do that), I can pop my shoulders which sounds like a branch breaking. It feels good to me, though frightens people when I do that. More like a temporary dislocation of both shoulders. . .:huh:

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You too? My left humerus can slip down far enough that if I tell someone to put a hand on my shoulder, they're repulsed by the movement underneath. If I lift my right arm out, bring it across my chest, lower it, and lift my shoulder, I can get a good pop (that's the crack edited into my OP).

BTW, has anyone else counted their cracks?

I dont think theres anything left to crack...I accidently "cracked" my knuckles on a brick and mortar wall out of sheer frustration...now they hurt like a mother@#$%^&!!!11 whenever I try to crack them...once the bruising dies down Ill see if i can count the cracks...

hurts...but funny

I used to do it a lot, but in the last few years my knuckles dont feel like they need cracking anymore. I can still crack the second joint if I want to, but it has been a long time since I felt the compulsion. (I just did it to see if I could, my knuckles would not crack, they are forever now in the post-cracked configuration?) but the second joints mostly did.

Now it's mostly my neck that I crack by gently bending it to one side with my hand until whatever it is snaps back to where it should be Some people really dont like that sound. Wanna have some fun, I once sent a teacher in high school into a veritable fit by holding a certs between my back teeth, and crunching it as loudly as possible with my mouth slightly open as I bent my neck to one side violently I had no idea her reaction would be so violent! I was laughing for days...

Everything I've read about this over the years seams to indicate that no, it doesn't cause arthritis. There were actually some studies done with a large enough population to mean anything and they didn't show any increase in arthritis. But there may have been some correlation with other join or hand damage or loss of strength. But other reviews of those studies claimed that they didn't correct for other things that might have damaged the hands like the actual jobs that people were doing.

So what I think is that the need to do it can come and go, it may not be with you forever, and that it doesn't cause anything bad unless you purposefully do it very hard in order to scare people nearby

Sometimes, for my knees and ankles, I find that I need more leverage. For example, my knees crack when the lower leg moves laterally inward or laterally outward. When I lie in bed, though, I can't always press my feet together hard enough for the knees to move inwards and crack, so I have to actually sit up and press down on the knee.

When that cracks, it's so satisfying...

Indeed, besides my toes, I can also crack my ankles, and knees (which sounds more like a rip and tear then a loud pop) and from time-to-time my ball-and-joint at the hips. Though the latter happens less and I don't know how.

You tried that Hang-Ups for self "inversion therapy"? That'll stretch my back for relief. I really like using it. Sometimes when I grab the sides of the casing and pull, then my lower back cracks/pops for that hurts soo good feeling. . .