Many people believe that cracking your knuckles is harmful and can lead to many other diseases such as arthritis. Although there hasn’t been much research in knuckle and joint cracking, evidence shows that it isn’t damaging. A doctor from California did a study that followed subjects for 60 years to prove this. Donald Unger cracked his knuckles on his left hand, while leaving his right hand alone. He analyzed and examined his left hand and found that after 60 years of cracking his left hand, it still was the same as his right. Neither hand showed symptoms of arthritis. Furthermore, there was another study done on people aged 50 to 89 years. The topic of the study was on the correlation between knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis. As a result of the study, they didn’t find any correlation between the two.
Why do people crack their knuckles?
Studies show that more than 54% of people crack their knuckles. There are many reasons why people crack it. For instance, stress. Cracking knuckles can be a stress reliever and allow a stressed person to release it without harming anything. Another notable one is nervousness. Cracking your knuckles is just like biting your lip or bouncing your leg a lot. It is a way to occupy your mind and let yourself vent your anxiety. Cracking your knuckles often becomes a habit. Some people unconsciously crack their knuckles without thinking. Overall, knuckle cracking isn’t bad for you, but the sound can sometimes be annoying.
Leave a Reply