Another study, this one by Snajiv Naidu, a Penn State professor of orthopedics, agrees, stating that cracking doesn’t strain or overextend ligaments and tissues to a point that would cause arthritis. Naidu asserts that we’d have to literally disrupt our joints with injury-causing excessive force to cause any chronic or long-term harm.
The Real Risks
In another study, published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, researchers looked a little deeper to figure out just what kind of harm, if not arthritis, we’re actually looking at. Unfortunately (for us poppers, at least), they found that 84 percent of long-term knuckle crackers experienced hand swelling later in life, while only 6 percent of noncrackers did. Another interesting finding: habitual crackers are more likely to be manual laborers and frequently drink, smoke, and bite their nails. Gateway habit? Or does manual labor just compound stress on hands, making people more likely to have issues? This topic is clearly still open for debate, but this study’s finding about impaired hand function later in life is strong—so maybe cracking our bones is something we should try to limit after all.
The Verdict
The good news: there isn’t any scientific evidence that suggests knuckle cracking is harmful (or beneficial) to our joints and overall health. The not-so-great news, of course, is that it has been linked pretty clearly to swelling and decreased hand strength later in life.
Old or young, swelling or no swelling, habitual cracker or not, if you’re feeling pain when any of your joints pop, you should definitely consult a doctor to rule out any underlying abnormalities, says Segal.
The next time I get that urge (twenty minutes from now), I’ll at least think twice about it. Although cracking doesn’t bother me now—and won’t give me arthritis—in thirty or forty years, I’d like to be able to uncork my own wine bottle, thank you very much.
