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Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

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Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#41

Post by Markoff »

modeless wrote: post #39

This is a bit weird, but I started getting mild wrist pain from computer use in college, and I credit two things with reversing it. One was rock climbing which strengthened my forearms and wrists, and the other was developing a habit of cracking my wrist joints. I stopped rock climbing many years ago but I continue to crack my wrists to this day. The habit causes me to flex and stretch my wrists every so often while…

I've had serious issues with my wrist in June (after decades of sitting in front of computer for most of the worktime), it hurt when bent or when using it for almost any load.

I tried painkiller cream (don't think it helped), wrist brace (pretty much impossible to use mouse with it), wrist exercises (bending/stretching arm) didn't help.

I switched from traditional mouse (HP 255 dual wireless) to my wife's Logitech Lift Vertical (she didn't use and bought based on my recommendation anyway, so replaced with my HP) and the pain/issues were gone in ~2 weeks, not sure if it was thanks to the vertical mouse or if it would gone by itself, but just to be safe I keep using vertical mouse. Later I went to preventive check with my kid to their pediatrician, amusingly noticed he is using exactly same mouse.

Btw. how do you crack your wrist (you mean sudden movement to left/right/up/down)? I crack finger joints, but would never think of cracking the wrist.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#42

Post by azan_ »

aorloff wrote: post #36
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.

Its such a scam that professional sports teams all hire chiropractors to work on the bodies they invest millions of dollars into each year.

Yes, rich people get scammed too.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#44

Post by AngryData »

chneu wrote: post #20
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend reading up on the actual history of chiropractic ... I've seen articles that seem to make it clear that it was long con right from the start. I acknowledge that this is not the only view on the history.

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.

In my area someone's insurance might cover the first 3-4 sessions of physical therapy, but nothing after that despite them needing it for longer. So the physical therapist will at the end of insurance billing send them down the road to do the exact same thing at the chiropractor for significantly cheaper.

In places without a lot of manual labor they are probably mostly just the quackery. Their clients are lots of hypochondriacs and office workers who really just need to get more exercise but are willing to find anyone who says they can make them better without significant effort. Im sure the massages and stretching does feel good though atleast, but im sure a massage parlor would set out some crystals and do a massage for cheaper.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#45

Post by AngryData »

lokar wrote: post #17
s1artibartfast wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and with the q-tips, it seems trival to do it safely. For some reason, be aware or careful always gets compressed to avoidance

YouTube has some pretty awful videos of ear canals full of cotton fibers. Touching the eardrum is not the only risk.

I mean it is pretty easy to find all sorts of people misusing or poorly using common hygiene products. Everyone I know uses q-tip in their ears and none have ever had a problem with it. To me it would be like not using toilet paper because some people aren't smart enough to not scour their ass raw.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#46

Post by somenameforme »

chneu wrote: post #20
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend reading up on the actual history of chiropractic ... I've seen articles that seem to make it clear that it was long con right from the start. I acknowledge that this is not the only view on the history.

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 in functional status in adults with chronic low back pain. When compared to no treatment, SMT may result in a medium improvement in pain and a large improvement in functional status."

The issue they had is that the data were very noisy due to the SMT being conducted across different populations, with differing frequency, and differing application formats. In any case, if that's the worst our agenda-driven editor could dig up, then I can only conclude that chiropracty is, at the minimum, certainly not a scam.

[1] - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41494147/

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#47

Post by refactor_master »

modeless wrote: post #39

This is a bit weird, but I started getting mild wrist pain from computer use in college, and I credit two things with reversing it. One was rock climbing which strengthened my forearms and wrists, and the other was developing a habit of cracking my wrist joints. I stopped rock climbing many years ago but I continue to crack my wrists to this day. The habit causes me to flex and stretch my wrists every so often while…

I get wrist pain as soon as I use anything taller than Apple’s flat Magic Keyboard and touchpad. I’ve used this combo for like a decade now and never experience fatigue. Once, I bought a fancy mechanical keyboard and I returned it within a few weeks as it immediately caused me wrist pain.

You can scoff at low travel and membranes all you want, but less movement = less fatigue, so I think they’re amazing.

Never thought about the climbing angle, but I’ll chime in and say that after I started climbing I’ve definitely not experienced more fatigue.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#48

Post by alt227 »

refactor_master wrote: post #47
modeless wrote: post #39

This is a bit weird, but I started getting mild wrist pain from computer use in college, and I credit two things with reversing it. One was rock climbing which strengthened my forearms and wrists, and the other was developing a habit of cracking my wrist joints. I stopped rock climbing many years ago but I continue to crack my wrists to this day. The habit causes me to flex and stretch my wrists every so often while…

I get wrist pain as soon as I use anything taller than Apple’s flat Magic Keyboard and touchpad. I’ve used this combo for like a decade now and never experience fatigue. Once, I bought a fancy mechanical keyboard and I returned it within a few weeks as it immediately caused me wrist pain. You can scoff at low travel and membranes all you want, but less movement = less fatigue, so I think they’re amazing. Never though…

Get a wrist rest to raise the hight of your wrist to match the keyboard, it does wonders.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#49

Post by alt227 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #16
ranger_danger wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> don't crack your neck The article makes a point to mention specifically that excessive/forceful neck cracking can be dangerous, but then switches to just "Cracking your own neck is not recommended"... but to me it sounds like they're referring more to the forceful kind, such as the manipulations on youtube they reference. I suppose it's like asking people to stop using q-tips... they're probably not going to, and t…

Yeah, and with the q-tips, it seems trival to do it safely. For some reason, be aware or careful always gets compressed to avoidance

There is never any reason to put q-tips in your ear. Ear drops are infinitely better.

Re: Should you stop cracking your knuckles?

#50

Post by pcblues »

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 myself into being on a computer nearly all the time personally and professionally. Back is starting to hurt again. Time to take my own advice again :)
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