Does Cracking Your Knuckles Cause Arthritis?

General
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You’ve probably heard this at least once:

“Stop cracking your knuckles—you’ll get arthritis!” :grimacing:

But is that actually true?

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So why does it make that sound?

Synovial joints contain synovial fluid, which helps reduce friction between the joint surfaces. When the joint is manipulated, pressure inside the joint changes. This can produce the familiar popping or cracking sound associated with cavitation.

Interestingly, researchers have also studied why a joint may not immediately produce the same sound again after cracking.

:warning: But should you ignore every painful crack?

Not necessarily. Painless knuckle cracking is generally not considered a cause of arthritis. But if cracking is accompanied by persistent pain, swelling, stiffness, instability or reduced movement, it is worth getting the joint evaluated rather than assuming it’s harmless.

The takeaway

Cracking your knuckles may annoy the people around you but current evidence doesn’t support the idea that it causes arthritis. Sometimes a childhood warning becomes accepted as medical fact simply because we’ve heard it for years.

Did you grow up being told that cracking your knuckles would give you arthritis?

MBH/PS

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Yes, I think most of us were told to not crack the knuckles. Eventually realised it didn’t cause arthritis.

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Even i remembered that people used to call cracking knuckles is a very bad habit and in future you might get joint problems.

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I grew up hearing this exact warning “Don’t crack your knuckles, you’ll get arthritis!” So I found it interesting to learn that painless knuckle cracking itself isn’t considered a cause of arthritis