Cracking Your Fingers: Is It Dangerous For The Joints?

2023 Author: Lynn Laird | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 21:10

Cracking your fingers is a habit that some find annoying and unhealthy, but others find the sound quite relaxing. What's more, the majority of people believe that cracking fingers can trigger illnesses such as rheumatism and joint wear and tear. But what does science say?

Crack your fingers: why do you do it and how does the noise come about?

But in the end, why crack your fingers? Indeed, scientists are still unable to determine why. However, some people do it to hear the crackling sound, others to relax their strained joints. Regarding the sound that occurs during “cracking”, the explanation is quite simple: the synovial fluid which is located between our joints, is filled with small gas bubbles. And when we crack the phalanges, the latter explode and therefore produce the famous noise. It will then take 30 minutes for them to appear again.

Can finger cracking cause rheumatism or osteoarthritis? What does science say?

As has already been suggested, a large number of individuals fear the development of certain joint diseases due to the cracking of the fingers. Is it true ? So, to check if there is such a link, researchers at the University of Southern California examined the hand bones of 28 patients in a nursing home. Research leaders Robert L. Sweezy and Stuart E. Sweezy divided the subjects into two: the first group consisted of people who never or rarely cracked their fingers while participants in the second group did “cracking” frequently or on a daily basis.

The results of the study showed that there were five patients with rheumatism in the first group. In contrast, only one participant in the second group suffered regularly from osteoarthritis. No change was seen in the bones of other participants in his group.

After extensive analysis, no link between cracking fingers and joint disease could be proven.

Is cracking fingers harmful to the joints?

While cracking your fingers doesn't have any serious consequences on the joints, medical experts at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital in Detroit, Michigan have found that the habit could lead to limited motor activity in the fingers.