Does cracking my knuckles really cause arthritis?

Have a medical-related question you’ve always wanted answered? The doctors at Madison Health are here to help! Email your ‘Ask the Doctor’ questions to news@eastidahonews.com and they might end up in our weekly column.

QUESTION: Does cracking my knuckles really cause arthritis?

ANSWER: Do you like to crack your knuckles, every now and again? Good news! The notion that cracking your knuckles might lead to arthritis is wrong!

There have been several studies which have compared arthritis rates among compulsive knuckle-crackers with the general population, and they’ve found zero correlation.

So what makes your knuckles crack, anyway? There’s a kind of natural lubrication – called synovial fluid – which occurs in the joints of the body, between bones. Sometimes tiny air bubbles infiltrate this liquid, and when you bend your finger or toe in a certain direction, the point where the two bones meet is stretched or pulled, which creates negative pressure. The bubbles inside your synovial fluid pop under this negative pressure, and the pop is loud enough to make a “cracking” sound.

These popping air bubbles in your joints do not lead to arthritis. In spite of that, however, if you’re a consummate knuckle-cracker, you may want to rethink your ways. There’s some evidence that excessive knuckle cracking can lead to reduced grip strength, and there have been a couple of verified cases where somebody who was trying to crack his or her knuckles got injured.