Cracking knuckles and fingers

[BryantC]

Somethig that i have been wondering for a while , is cracking your fingers and knuckles bad for you. i Have recieved so much mixed advice on this issue. And recently i have become addicted to crackin my finger and knuckles every five minutes or so. i even crack my elbow... so any thought or advice?

[Koala]

Well I cant stand cracking mine, or other people cracking their own... so stop it. :)

Seriously, I might be wrong but i think it does mess up and wear down your bones somehow. But theres definitely others in here who might know better.

[salsainglesa]

it is only bad if you are next to someone that does not like it...
By itself it wont do harm, it is co2 liberated from the articultaions, i dont know anything else thou...

[oRg]

I say crack away. I've heard people say it gives you arthiritis, but I say them them so does playing the guitar...look as Les Paul...the guy's like 80 and he has very bad arthritis and can barely play the guitar anymore.

[Metalliska]

I remember being told it causes arthiritis when I was younger and I used to crack my knuckles. If you want the biology view I was told by my biology teacher about two years ago, inbetween each join there is a certain amount of liquid that works like a lubricant and a shock aborber. When you put pressure on the joint the liquid is compressed to take the pressure off the bones. When forced at certain angles the liquid pops out, kinda like a tiddly winks, and the two ends of the bone crack together. There is a certain amount of cartiledge built up on the ends of bones to prevent damage to the brittler bones, if you crack your knuckles repetitively it wears away the cartiledge and begins to damage the ends of the bones, hence arthritis.

[Stranger]

The mechanism by which clicking noises can be produced by extreme pulling, twisting, flexion, or extension of joints is well established. When a joint is deformed in this way, the pressure in the joint space decreased, and a CO2 filled cavity forms in the synovial fluid. The pressure in the cavity is lower than that in the surrounding fluid, so the fluid quickly rushes into the cavity. This sudden implosion of the cavity is thought to be what causes the distasteful cracking sound. Interestingly, tiny bubbles of CO2 remain in the synovial fluid, taking about 15 minutes to be reabsorbed. This explains why a knuckle cannot be recracked immediately - some smart dude said that :) ( no - no, not me :D )

here's the topic that says if it's dangerous for you or not :) a bit long but very educating :)
http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/1201/life/477.html

[RandyEllefson]

I believe it's a myth that it is bad for you.

It can also be good if it happens by itself, because tension is being released. When I'm done playing a tough 5 minute piece, I straighten my left arm and my elbow often cracks. People assume I'm cracking it on purpose, but I'm just straightening the arm. Actually feels better after....

[MontgomeryGoo]

i can't make a fist without all of the middle and before-the-fingernail knuckles on my cracking and this does worry me

[GuitarLausing]

sometimes when i play, i have to crack my knuckles to BE ABLE to move my fingers normally/the way i want them to move... I don't know.. Is this bad?

And do anyone know if the big names like satch or whatever cracks knuckles..

I also crack my back/spine once in a while, when streching out, and it feels relaxing...

...?