So ever since I've become a chiropractic physician one of the most popular questions has always been does cracking my knuckles cause arthritis?
You would think that popping and popping your knuckles would eventually cause so much repetitive trauma that it would lead to arthritis. Arthritis being an inflammation of the joints caused by overuse (actually caused by abuse or mis-use). There's also a genetic version of arthritis known as Rheumatoid arthritis, but that's not a concern here.
In a recent edition of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Kevin deWeber, MD, FAAFP, Mariusz Olszewski, MD and Rebecca Ortolano, MD put this old wives tale to the test. In an article based on original research-entitled Knuckle Cracking and Hand Osteoarthritis, their conclusions were somewhat surprising to some, but not to me.
It's not too technical and very interesting to find out that there is actually no correlation between cracking your knuckles and getting arthritis.
For those that also ask about why your joints make that cracking sound, you'll also find your answer in this report of their original research.
Read the article and let me know your thoughts.
'nuff said
Dr. T
Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Center; A Facility for Natural Sports Medicine.
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