By cracking your fingers you start to develop Arthritis

Question

Cracking your knuckles does not give you arthritis. The popping sound is connected to the formation and bursting of gas bubbles in your joint fluid. No studies have demonstrated an increased risk of arthritis, but frequent knuckle cracking may slightly reduce grip strength or irritate surrounding tissues​

Comments

Initially, it's important to note that this article and its claim is relying on a well-known and credible source, which allows us to view this claim through a different lense. This article claims the myth that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis is just that; a myth. According to Eric M. Ruderman, (a rheumatologist at Northwestern Medicine), there is truly no connection between cracking knuckles and arthritis because it is just the expulsion of gas bubbles.

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While the concern that cracking your knuckles can lead to long lasting effects such as arthritis is valid, there has been no known correlation between cracking your knuckles and arthritis.

"The relation of habitual knuckle cracking to osteoarthrosis with functional impairment of the hand has long been considered an old wives' tale without experimental support. The mechanical sequelae of knuckle cracking have been shown to produce the rapid release of energy in the form of sudden vibratory energy, much like the forces responsible for the destruction of hydraulic blades and ship propellers.

There was no increased preponderance of arthritis of the hand in either group; however, habitual knuckle crackers were more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength. Habitual knuckle cracking was associated with manual labour, biting of the nails, smoking, and drinking alcohol. It is concluded that habitual knuckle cracking results in functional hand impairment."

This quote taken from a study by the National Library of Medicine explains what the popping sound in knuckle is caused by, and how knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis, although it can increase chances in developing functional hand impairment.

"Repetitive and intentional joint cracking won't cause cartilage damage or arthritis, but it may lead to other serious issues like instability within the joint and a loss of grip strength or hand function."

This excerpt from CentraCare also explores the possibility of repeated knuckle cracking leading to lower and function.

In short, cracking your knuckles will not lead to arthritis, but can lead to a loss in hand function .

https://www.centracare.com/articles-stories/cracking-knuckles-cause-arthritis
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1004074/

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The source and short description were incredible since they clearly summarized what the claim is and the article being referenced was very trustworthy. The source was from the Arthritis Center at Johns Hopkins, which provides enough authority and background of where most of the information was from. But why did the title seem completely opposite to the claim and the backup source? Is it a way to draw attention? Besides this, the source was also in Q&A form which directly answered each question around the topic of arthritis clearly.

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Many people have the belief that cracking your knuckles can lead to things like arthritis. However, this is not true, and it is simply the popping of joint fluid. Northwestern Medicine states, "There is no connection between cracking your knuckles and arthritis. "
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/can-you-get-arthritis-from-cracking-your-knuckles#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20truth%20is%20there%20is,cracking%20your%20knuckles%20and%20arthritis.

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This is a great explanation! It's short and concise, and you backed it up with a good and trustworthy source.

Answer 1

This article addresses common misconceptions related to cracking knuckles and affirms that it does not cause arthritis. Although cracking knuckles may have negative effects, such as reduced grip strength, it is clearly claimed that their is no link to arthritis. This claim in this article is also supported by a Harvard Health Study. While arthritis is not a result, it is still advisable to let go of the knuckle cracking habit.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/does-knuckle-cracking-cause-arthritis

Answer 2

This article claims that cracking your knuckles does not cause you to develop arthrits. The author of this statement provides a source, written and published through a well known medical research center, Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, and it explains clearly that there is no known direct link to arthritis and cracking knuckles. Other medical research schools like Northwestern Medicine also explain there is no studies correlation between the two. Johns Hopkins supports this claim by stating that arthritis is caused by, "wear and tear" such as obsessive mechanical use. To support it even more they also answer if it could worsen arthritis in which they say it cannot directly, but could have indirect effects such as the injuries to the joints being more easily induced. The writer includes the physiology in the body to truly debunk the claim that cracking your knuckles develops arthritis.

https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/can-you-get-arthritis-from-cracking-your-knuckles#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20connection%20between%20cracking%20your%20knuckles%20and%20arthritis.

https://www.hopkinsarthritis.org/arthritis-news/knuckle-cracking-q-a-from/

Answer 3

Where did you find the source for this? According to Eric M. Ruderman from Northwestern Medicine, he says that there is no connection between cracking your knuckles and arthritis.

Answer 4

Cracking your knuckles will not cause arthritis. The popping sound comes from gas bubbles popping in the so called synovial fluid of the joints. Studies haven't shown a link between knuckle cracking and the development of arthritis. But cracking knuckles can effect grip strength or possibly swelling in the joints, but if this happens its recommended to talk to a doctor.

Answer 5

A Johns Hopkins article claims that arthritis is not caused by knuckle cracking. It states that repeated knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis, but it may somewhat reduce grip strength. A Harvard Medical School research supports this conclusion by concluding that "it probably won't raise your risk of arthritis." After looking over the data, I believe the article to be trustworthy, stating that arthritis is not likely to develop from knuckle cracking.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/does-knuckle-cracking-cause-arthritis

Answer 6

The claim provided by John Hopkins Arthritis Center is proven that cracking your knuckles cannot lead to arthritis but other side effects. As a child I was known to being a "knuckle cracker" as stated in the article, and people would tell me that doing this so called knuckle cracking would give me arthritis and hurt my joints in the long run. Reading this article, your joints are covered in a fluid almost acting as a "lubricant". Many gases are dissolved in these fluids, "when one cracks a knuckle, the stretching of the capsule lowers the pressure inside the joint and creates a vacuum which is filled by the gas previously dissolved in the synovial fluid". This creates that popping sounds that seems to frighten a lot of people. This has been proven to be not extreme to the joints and causes no damage to future arthritis. After researching on Harvard Medical School, the author states that "knuckle cracking doesn't cause arthritis ... [but] may lead to reduced grip strength". Though this bad habit won't cause arthritis in the future, it is an annoying habit that should be stopped due to possible injuries that could occur. They also describe the "cracks" in the joints as  "bubbles bursting in the synovial fluid — the fluid that helps lubricate joints". This claim has been proven to be true after fact checking and is suggested by multiple sources to not crack your knuckles as it might cause injuries in the future. 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/does-knuckle-cracking-cause-arthritis

Answer 7

After looking deeper into this article, the claim that cracking your knuckles does not lead to arthritis is true. In the article provided, sourced from the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, it states that, "There is no evidence that cracking knuckles causes any damage such as arthritis in the joints". While this article does claim that there are reports of an association between knuckle cracking and ligament damage, the idea that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis is false. Furthermore, after conducting my own research, I found another article covering this topic from Northwestern Medicine. In this article, Dr. Eric M. Ruderman states that, "The truth is there is no connection between cracking your knuckles and arthritis. This additionally adds to the claim that cracking your knuckles does not cause arthritis. Dr. Ruderman also states that there are no long term health problems associated with cracking your knuckles. So overall, I would conclude that cracking your knuckles has a limited effect on your overall physical health. 

https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/can-you-get-arthritis-from-cracking-your-knuckles

Answer 8

the claim that cracking your knuckles gives you arthiritis is not true. in the article "john hopkin arthiritis center" it states that there is no evidence that it does cause arthiritis but can redue your grip strength. in another article from UAMS health it also states that popping your knuckles wont cause arthirits but can cause a temporary soreness of the joints. after fact checking and findng other sources i would say this is factual that popping your knuckles will NOT cause arthiritis.

Answer 9

This has always been a highly debated topic and many always make the claim that cracking knuckles "causes" arthritis, however, this is a common misconception that people tend to blindly believe to be true. The article used in support of this claim is factual and had support of Rheumatologist, Dimitrios A. Pappas, whose expertise is in arthritis. The information given from the article is supported by many other studies including highly trusted studies done by Harvard University and is even discussed on the National Institutes of Health, a federal government sponsored website with trusted authors and researchers. All the information from these websites go hand and hand with each other and are cohesive with the information they are giving out, further proving this claim to be true. 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/does-knuckle-cracking-cause-arthritis

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1004074/

Answer 10

Does cracking knuckles cause arthritis? - Harvard Health

According to Harvard Health and various other sources, there have been no conclusive studies on the claim that cracking knuckles leads to arthritis. The sound itself is caused by the popping of nitrogen bubbles in the synovial fluid of knuckles which naturally builds up and regenerates itself but causes no harm. The baseless claim that knuckle cracking leads to arthiritis was likely just created by people who find the sound annoying.