Does cracking your knuckles makes your joints bigger?

When you crack your knuckles or neck what is it that cracks?

Your joints are releasing the synovial fluid and makes a cracking noise.

Is cracking your knuckles just releasing gas?

When you crack your knuckles, your bones are rubbing together. That's what makes the cracking sound. It used to be beleived that cracking your knuckles caused arthridis, but that been prooved untrue.

Does cracking your knuckles cause them to be short and fat?

No. It Makes your knuckles swell up and never goes away. :\ So stop cracking your knuckles!!

Does cracking knuckles make the knuckles bigger?

The following are some views from WikiAnswers contributors:It doesnt make them bigger, and it doesn't harm them, its just the air being removed from in between the joints. I don't know but I HAVE to crack my back and neck or I can't move sometimes. I did suffer a lower back injury in 1993 when I fell about 12 feet at work. I landed basically 'sitting down'. Anyway, I can crack my toes, ankles (on occasion) knees, knuckles, neck, back, right elbow, and sometimes even my sturnum. Weird I know, I have relieved headaches in both other people and myself by either cracking the neck or back... Thoughts?I have been cracking my knuckles for as long as i can remember I'm only 22 and yes it makes then bigger i can feel the joints in my fingers huge! i don't pull them i bend them into the palm of my hand and with my other hand crack the joint closet to my nail then proceed to crack the joint above that with the thumb for that hand. I've stopped cracking them for about 2 months now and i have serious pain, I've been told its the liquid between my joints coming back (in case you don't know the pop/crack you hear when you crack your knucles is a liquid/cusion between your joints/bones to move them efficently and comfortably) So when you crack/pop you are cracking that cusion so its bone rubbing against bone! and when that cusion starts to build back up you crack it again! Its hurts for me now not to crack because i keep stopping and like a nervous twitch I forget and crack them which relieves the pain! But the long term effect will happen to the point that you cant even crack them to relieve the pain that's arthitist people! Some people who read this might not understand because they haven't experienced this yet but trust me if you've started please stop and if your like me and been doing it forever do what i do, think about that liquid/cushion popping creating you bones to rub against each other even though i forget once in a while my fingers hurt way less now that I've stopped then when i first starting to end my finger cracker.I am 20 i have been cracking my knuckles since i was about 6 years old and i have never had a problem yet. so if you are a person that think cracking your knuckles causes you harm your wrong and i am living prof of that.Yes, it will make them bigger and it usually becomes like an OCD which means its an like addiction and hard to stop. At 20 the above poster is still young enough to not have any serious problems BUT later in life there is the possibility of things like arthritis. I've been doing it for about 6/7 years and at 29 my fingers are starting to hurt every time i do it, and hurt for a long time after i do it and hurt when i don't do it until i do it again to ease it - (creating a vicious circle). My fingers and joints feel swollen (but don't look it). Also I had no problems before i started doing it. So i have stopped. I advise you do NOT take it up, its like any other habit.I heard that cracking your knuckles doesn't really make them larger. Just an urban legend. Could be wrong though.I believe so. I had small knuckles, picked up cracking my knuckles, and they got big. I quit for about a month or two and they became small again. To test it further i cracked only one finger for a week and it got bigger. Also i have 5 friends in my group, one cracks there knuckles and there huge. The rest who do not have small. Some people may not suffer from it... but i believe cracking your knuckles does add to making your knuckles bigger. It depends on the person, but for the most case, yes.If you want to try and make your knuckles bigger try lightly hitting a solid surface like a wall, your bones will re-heal and case over, also it kills the nerves so you can hit harder without it hurting as much. But cracking them does not lead to bigger or stronger knuckles.I used to crack my knuckles and they used to be small and I cracked them for about 3 years and now they are big. i quit now and they don't get small agin! now that I stoped its like a craving and I gotta mingle with my fingers insted of cracking them. My suggestion is don't start and, if you have, stop.Yes, it does make them bigger and it can cause you to have arthritis when you are older so I would advise you to stop doing it because it is kind of addicting. My hands hurt all the time now due to cracking my knuckles. Now that I'm older it causes me to have severe pain in my hands and fingers!No, it doesn't. My mom is 53 and she has been cracking her knuckles since she was 7 and no problems.I say it does make your knuckles bigger. I'm only 13 and started cracking them when i was 9 and they are fat and don't fit into my mom moms wedding ring very well.Actually, it does not make them bigger. there's what I believe a wall of mucus or something between the knuckle and the finger. pull your finger as hard as you can to test it out. you can also see like a little hole between the knuckle and finger when you pull it. I punched walls and now my knuckles are bigger, I tested this with my right, now my right knuckles are bigger than my left knuckles. My right knuckles are also more harder.I don't think that popping your knuckles makes them any bigger I am 11 and i have been popping my knuckles since i was 7. When you pop your fingers a gas (nitrogen?) is released and that is what makes the popping sound. Yes, I do have slightly larger knuckles than my friends its not even noticeable though. I have always had slightly larger knuckles though. also you feel immediate relief and you feel more supple. I also pop my neck and back.

What makes knuckles crack?

what makes knuckles crack is carbon dioxide bubbles in your knuckles along with cartilage.

Does cracking bones give you arthritis?

AnswerNo matter what you do you will get arthritis. Arthritis is inflamation of the bones and almost every human suffers from arthritis in old age. It is known that cracking bones does increase your chances and make it worse. Over all, do not crack your bones!

How do you stop cracking your fingers?

I crack my fingers right now, and am trying to stop. I have noticed that my knuckles are getting big, and i no longer want to do it, so i put duck tape on them. I know kinda odd, but it works. The duck tape makes you think of not cracking your fingers if you feel, or look at it. Hope that helps!

Can your toes pop?

Of course. You can pop it really hard, or bending it the wrong way. I don't recommend trying this. (you can also pop any limbs or phalanges do it this way, although the proper way of saying "popping out of its socket" is actually "dislocation".

How tall is knuckles the echidna?

Knuckles is 4 whole inches taller than Sonic, who is 3'3. So that makes Knuckles 3'7.

What happens when you crack your fingers?

We've all heard the claim that cracking your knuckles will cause permanent injury. But is it really true that a life of arthritis awaits the knuckle-popper addicts among us? Our search on "what makes knuckles crack" led us to a couple of sites that explain what happens when you hear that distinctive pop.We first stopped by KidzWorld, a great place for kids to find the answers to all sorts of questions. An article titled "Cracking Down on Knuckles" provided a comprehensive answer to your question. When you crack your knuckles, you're essentially pushing the joint into or out of its normal position. A thick, clear lubricant called synovial fluid is found in the joints between your bones. When you crack your fingers, you cause the bones to pull apart, and the pressure on the synovial fluid is reduced. Bubbles form and quickly expand and then burst. Snap, crackle, pop go your knuckles! Next we stopped by the inestimable How Stuff Works. Marshall Brain corroborated our earlier findings and offered a bit more detail. Heexplains that the bubble forms in a process called "cavitation." Once you've cracked your knuckle, it takes about 25-30 minutes for the gas to dissolve into the joint fluid. During this time, you can't crack the knuckle again. But once the gas is dissolved, cavitation is once again possible, and you can start popping your knuckles to your hand's content.Okay, now we know what happens when you crack your knuckles, but are you doing serious damage? We read a bit more and discovered that only one in-depth study of the issue has been published. The study focused on 300 habitual knuckle crackers and found no evidence linking knuckle cracking and Arthritis. Chronic crackers did suffer other harm, including soft tissue damage and loss of grip strength. This damage is usually minor, however, and cracking your knuckles actually has some benefits -- you'll feel looser and enjoy more mobility in your joints immediately after popping.

How I can crack my knuckles?

People have different ways of doing it. I have 3 ways i can do it. One is by simply pushing your fingers down towards the palm of your hand. Another way is by pushing them back into the knuckle, and bending the middle joint of your finger. (if that makes sense..) Another way is by cracking your fingers sideways. This is more difficult but it's what i do without realising :P Place your thumb on one of your fingers, and your index finger on the other side of that finger, then pull your index finger towards you. I'm not encouraging you to do it as to all the rumours about arthritis and wearing down cartilage and what not, but it's become a habit of mine when i get nervous or bored.. it also doesn't help that I'm a figit and need to be doing something constantly :P

Does popping your fingers cause arthritis?

Arthritis and Cracking KnucklesThe reason people associate knuckle-cracking with arthritis because it makes a cracking noise and, if something cracks, it must be being damaged. However, the truth is that nothing is being cracked. A joint is any place where the ends of two bones meet. Where the bones come together they have a covering of "articular cartilage." This is surrounded by the "joint capsule," inside of which there is synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is the lubricant for the joint and also serves as a source of nutrients for the cells that look after the cartilage.Synovial fluid has dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide within it. When the right pressure is applied to a joint, the area inside the joint capsule expands. However, the expansion is limited by how much synovial fluid is contained in the joint. Synovial fluid cannot expand unless pressure inside the joint capsule drops and the dissolved gases can escape out of the fluid. The cracking sound comes from the gases rapidly being released from the fluid.There have been a few studies to see whether or not cracking knuckles caused arthritis. None have found that there was an increase of arthritis among knuckle-crackers; nevertheless, a relationship was discovered between knuckle-cracking, hand swelling and lower grip strength, damage to ligaments surrounding the joints and dislocation of tendons.The conclusion of the studies indicated that while knuckle-cracking was not associated with arthritis, it was associated with damage to ligaments that surround the joint and dislocation of tendons. There may also be a connection with soft tissue injuries.For those that would like a more in depth view of tests done on a sample of 300 knuckle-crackers, go to the Related Link below.More input from Wiki s contributors:Cracking your knuckles wears away the cartilage between the joints over a long period of time. This is one of the causes of arthritis. Other causes of arthritis are completely unrelated, like for example, you can inherit it from your parents, or get it because of a disease like Lupus. So, I guess if you might get it anyway, and you might not know if it was your's or your parents fault, go ahead and crack away.Don't listen to those people that tell you cracking your knuckles will cause you to have arthritis. At this point it's just a speculation, not wild, but certainly not founded on anything but misconceptions. All you're doing is playing with the physiology and chemistry of your body a bit. There are good and bad sides to this. Here's a rather complete site if you want to read more (which keeps me from typing it all out): howstuffworks.No, of course it doesn't. A study focused on 300 habitual knuckle crackers found no evidence linking knuckle cracking and arthritis. Chronic crackers did suffer other harm, including soft tissue damage and loss of grip strength. This damage is usually minor, however, and cracking your knuckles actually has some benefits -- you'll feel looser and enjoy more mobility in your joints immediately after popping.No, it only elongates the joints over time and gives you the appearance of longer fingers.No. I'm 20 and I have been cracking my knuckles (toes, back, neck...) since third grade. My knuckles, if I pull the skin tight are a bit larger than normal, but it's not noticeable. My fingers don't look long to me.This is an old wife's tale that has been debunked many times. The crackling sound when you 'crack' your knuckles is just the release of gases (nitrogen if I recall) back into your bloodstream. No one has ever shown that this is in any way harmful but it can be annoying if done habitually. That's probably why the arthritis story originated, an annoyed parent wanted to scare his kids into stopping the practice.I am a paramedic student and EMT, and have also posed this question to my anatomy professor in the past and to nurse and paramedic instructor back in paramedic school. All cracking your knuckles does is release gas build up between the joints and has nothing to do with arthritis. P.S.: The cracking of knuckles is nothing compaired to the every day abuse the joints go through in every day normal use.It takes 20+ minutes for the gases and fluids to get back into your knuckles to get poped again. and it has been proven that the worst thing that can happen is a slightly stretched ligament which is not harmful at all. it is perfectly fine. Don't do your neck though: let the chiropractors do that.Not everybody's joints crack. Some people have a larger separation between the bones and some people can't relax enough to allow the bones to separate. If you can crack and your mom tells you, you're going to get arthritis, she's just yanking your chain. There is no scientific evidence that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis. However, it can't be good to repeatedly push a joint beyond its normal physical range. Besides that, it's annoying. Cracking your knuckles can cause a decrease in your grip but unless you're signing any multi-million dollar contracts as a pitcher, it's not worth giving up. But it's still annoying.Of course it doesn't. I've been doing it for years and if anything, it increases felxibility and keeps your fingers supple. I would know, I play the guitar and the piano and it always helps.No is your answer, i am a sports and fitness major and i have askeds many of my Prof. and they all say the same thing there is no evidence that cracking your knuckles inflames the joints and leads to arthritis. the cracking causes the bones to pull apart, forming a gas bubble in the joint, and that's what makes the sound.There has never been a meaningful study done that has shown knuckle cracking to be harmful to the finger joints. 25% of Americans crack habitually.Cracking your knuckles will likely not cause arthritis. There is no evidence that it will. However, as a long time knuckle cracker I can tell you that there are dangers to knuckle cracking. You can sprain your joints if you are not careful.I have always cracked my fingers, toes and arm. I also have arthritis and know that it is inherited from my mother (who does not crack). Has anyone thought about maybe it could be the other way around, maybe having arthritis even in the early stages makes some people need to crack their joints. Maybe it is a condition where some people have excess nitrogen buildup in their joints, making them feel uncomfortable and causing pain and related some how to having arthritis.It has been found that there is no relationship between arthritis and knuckle-cracking. There are two main types of arthritis osteo which is non inflammatory form of arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis which is an autoimmune disease effecting the joints.No there is absolutely no evidence that knuckle-cracking causes any sort of arthritis.Arthritis is a problem that causes a wearing away of normal joint surfaces. Joints are the points where two bones meet each other. These junctions have special linings on the bones to allow motion at the joints. When this special lining (cartilage) is worn away, arthritis is the condition that results.Finger and thumb arthritis is common, because there are 27 bones in each hand! This means that there are many joints in the fingers that can develop arthritis. Furthermore, we are very dependent on our fingers for many normal activities. Any problem that affects these joints can limit many normal activities.