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Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

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Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#101

Post by mythrwy »

pcblues wrote: post #50

Any muscle, back and joint pain should first be met with mild strengthening, mild weight loss and mild exercise. It's like turning your computer off and on. Mostly the problems go away. Then check for other things :) Keep remembering to relax and move, from your fingers to your wrists and shoulders. And keep trying different set-ups and equipment if you can. There is a pretty magic set-up for most people. 30+ years m…

I was getting a bit stiff recently and thought it might be old age creeping up.

I started sleeping on the floor for a few nights on a doubled thick blanket for slight padding and after the third night (first two were a little rough) I sprang up like an 18 year old and felt like my posture had been improved all day long.

We spend a lot of time in bed and most beds are too soft and lead to distortions is my current theory. I'm thinking about replacing my mattress with one of those reed mats Japanese sleep on.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#102

Post by DANmode »

hasley wrote: post #97
tapland wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can feel some kind of tension after a short bit of using my hands, and cracking my knuckles relieves it and allows me to continue without any issues. Usually I have to crack them before falling asleep, since the feeling of tension keeps me from sleeping. Doctors never thought this was an issue and I have no joint damage (checked for other reasons).

I also crack my fingers in the morning, over the day, and before sleeping. I also feel this "tension". But I am not sure whether it is a real "tension" or something my brain makes up to force me crack my knuckles which gives some perceived relief. Maybe I am just addicted to this relief. I haven't seen any research on this urge to crack and the possible tension. Is this a physical tension, some psychologically percei…

Gas buildup, is the best theory I’ve read.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#103

Post by DANmode »

snarfy wrote: post #89
ofalkaed wrote: post #59

Within a few minutes of picking up a guitar my fingers start to stiffen up, I crack them and then all is well, been doing this for 30 odd years now and the joints of my hands are some of the few which don't cause me problems at this point in my life. I never could crack my knuckles before I started playing guitar and if I stop playing for a few weeks, I cease being able to crack my knuckles. These articles on knuckle…

The tension is in the fluid with gas compressed into it. Cracking causes a suction that pops the gas out, and now you have a bubble. Maybe that bubble is supposed to be there.

Ancestors used to walk on knuckles, it hurts or is uncomfortable for some not to crack - maybe it isn’t.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#104

Post by [deleted] »

AngryData wrote: post #44
chneu wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its a con that is trying very hard to become legitimate. Chiros started as a scam, continued as a scam, and are now a widely accepted scam. The legit work they do is often just physical therapy. Just go to a physical therapist.

A physical therapist costs significantly more, which is why a lot of chiropractors in rural areas with a lot of manual labor are well looked upon. They are mostly just practicing physical therapy without a medical license which could get them in trouble if it wasn't considered chiropractic work. The pure quackery doesn't get them as far because most of their customers are too poor to regularly spend on woowoo crap. I…

[deleted]

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#105

Post by parineum »

somenameforme wrote: post #46
chneu wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its a con that is trying very hard to become legitimate. Chiros started as a scam, continued as a scam, and are now a widely accepted scam. The legit work they do is often just physical therapy. Just go to a physical therapist.

This doesn't really make any sense, because the entire point of chiropracty is pain and function improvement. This is measurable by people. The Wiki page on the topic is loaded with vitriol and agenda, but the study [1] they relied on to try to discredit chiropracty concludes: "When spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is compared to sham SMT/placebo, it may result in a small improvement in pain and medium improvement i…

> This doesn't really make any sense, because the entire point of chiropracty is pain and function improvement.

That's a function of massage which has an large overlap with what chiropractors actually do.

On the other hand, the function of chiropracty is changing the alignment of the spine to solve any and all ailments.

What chiropractors do nowadays isn't really chiropracty any more, it's some combination of PT and massage. It can be effective, I won't deny that but the reason they are doing things to my body is important to me and chiropractors have some odd ideas.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#106

Post by podocarp »

DANmode wrote: post #102
hasley wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also crack my fingers in the morning, over the day, and before sleeping. I also feel this "tension". But I am not sure whether it is a real "tension" or something my brain makes up to force me crack my knuckles which gives some perceived relief. Maybe I am just addicted to this relief. I haven't seen any research on this urge to crack and the possible tension. Is this a physical tension, some psychologically percei…

Gas buildup, is the best theory I’ve read.

Is it a theory, I thought it was exactly what causes it. The stretching depressurizes the liquidy thing in the joints and that causes dissolved gases to bubble out of solution in nucleation points. It's not really gas build up, but more like opening a can of coke, the pressure drop causes the equilibrium to shift and brings dissolved gases out of solution. At least that's what I thought it was.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#107

Post by podocarp »

snarfy wrote: post #89
ofalkaed wrote: post #59

Within a few minutes of picking up a guitar my fingers start to stiffen up, I crack them and then all is well, been doing this for 30 odd years now and the joints of my hands are some of the few which don't cause me problems at this point in my life. I never could crack my knuckles before I started playing guitar and if I stop playing for a few weeks, I cease being able to crack my knuckles. These articles on knuckle…

The tension is in the fluid with gas compressed into it. Cracking causes a suction that pops the gas out, and now you have a bubble. Maybe that bubble is supposed to be there.

No, the bubble is never there. The bubble only appears when you stretch it, and the pop comes from the bubble bursting. Would be weird just having a bubble of gas in your joints.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#108

Post by lkjdsklf »

toast0 wrote: post #34
not_a_bot_4sho wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. Bruce Lee drank water. He died. Anyone who drinks water will eventually die. It's a fact.

You know, water is basically made up of rocket fuel. And they put it in our kids' schools.

Who wouldn’t want their kid to be an astronaut

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#109

Post by BatFastard »

adrianN wrote: post #57
firebot wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to wonderful chiropractors and I've been to quacks. The good ones will discuss what's going on and individualize treatment. The bad ones will kind of just do the same exact routine every time you go there and they'll do the same thing to everyone that goes there -- wham, bam, ty ma'am style -- get you in and out the door as quick as possible! They'll probably pop just about everything they can, which accomp…

All chiropractors are quacks. The whole thing is based on quackery.

Many are, but some perform for lack of a better word.. magic.

Went to a Orthopedic surgeon, he said my back pain was the cost of walking on two legs.

Then I went to half a dozen cracking Chiropractors, and the were shit.

Finally found one that practiced DNFT (Directional Non Force Therapy), its a close to magic as I have ever seen, but it works wonders. I can sleep, walk, and sit with no pain. Something I never thought I would do again.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#110

Post by JoelMcCracken »

So, I injured my left index finger to the point of tendon interruption. It was approx 2018. I was fortunate enough to have surgery that repaired it to near 100% extension.

So, I clearly have no synovial fluid at that joint. The tendons were in it, and so by necessity it was also violated.

I just popped that knuckles, and it sounds exactly like the others. Anyone have any ideas?

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