Has anyone ever told you that you must stop cracking your knuckles as it can cause arthritis? Yes! Most of us have come across such situations where we are asked to stop cracking our knuckles. According to a study, 24-25% of the world’s population crack their knuckles; men are often seen doing that instead of the women. It does not mean that the maximum of our society may end up having arthritis due to knuckle cracking.
Learn about your knuckles
Knuckles are the joints that are formed by the bones in our fingers. Each of our fingers consists of three bones called phalanges. Each of them is named separately based on their position to the palm of your hand. The closest one is the proximal phalange, then is the middle phalange, and the most distant one is the distal phalange.
The first knuckle is known as the metacarpophalangeal joint, and the second is the proximal interphalangeal joint, and the last or the distant one is the distal interphalangeal joint. The bones are kept in place with each other by ligaments or tendons. You must be surprised to know that there are no muscles in your fingers, and the entire movement of the fingers is controlled by the forearm muscles.
The knuckles are also covered by a layer of the joint capsule that is known as a synovial capsule which has fluids in it. Fluid, known as synovial fluid, provides lubrication and nutrients to the joints and its surrounding bones.
How do the knuckles cause the popping sound
There are fluids in the synovial cavity that contain several gases in them, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. When you try to crack your knuckles, you tend to stretch out the synovial cavity, which causes a negative pressure within the joints. This pressure pulls out the gasses from the fluid in the form of the bubbles. The bursting sound of these bubbles is the cracking sound that we often hear while cracking the knuckles. To create that cracking sound again, you must wait for the gases to build up again in the synovial fluid.
Dig deeper into the world of arthritis
More than 100 different types of arthritis are known by far. In general form, it is the inflammation of your joints that is caused due to various reasons including autoimmune problems, bacterial infection, or STDs. Osteoarthritis is the most common arthritis, which is often considered in the case of knuckle cracking.
Osteoarthritis is caused due to excessive wear and tear on the joints, as it quickly leads to cartilage breakdown. A question must have popped up in your mind, that, whether constant knuckle cracking can lead to the wear and tear on the joints. You must not worry as it has not been noticed in any of the cases yet. The habitual knuckle cracking also can not lead you to have osteoarthritis. However, you might lose your grip with time.
You must try to avoid it just to protect the strength and grip of your fingers; however, you must not worry about having an arthritis problem. So, if next time someone asks you to stop the cracking, then you must clear their doubts and educate them about the real facts.
