Reasons Why

Releasing that tension in your joints by cracking them not only feels good, it becomes an obsession for some. Here are some reasons why:

• If you joints are hypermobile, your joints move more than they should because your ligaments are lax. The surrounding muscles respond by tightening up to stabilize the joints. This makes your neck feel tight and creates that yearning to crack.
• some love to hear that loud popping or clicking sound
• release tension
• relieve stiffness & excess pressure
• bending fingers and joints into unusual positions feels good for some
• unable to stop/addiction
• some people believe it’s actually good for you
• habit
• to relieve pain from back and neck conditions such as whiplash
• nervousness
• tightness from stress

So what makes the joints crack? A protective fluid, called synovial fluid, cushions many of the joints in our bodies to protect the bones. The synovial fluid capsule is made up of nutrients and gases including oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The capsule stretches as you move your fingers, neck or any other joint, releasing gasses in order to give more way to the stretch. The “cracking” noise is the pop of the gas bubbles escaping the fluid. The gasses are then reabsorbed, enabling you to ‘crack’ again.

The long term side effects of cracking knuckles and joints in the neck are not yet known. Many people believe it causes arthritis. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this theory. Continued cracking can lead to hand swelling from the build up for cartilage layers inside the joint. It can also reduce your grip due to stretched tendons.

What can you do to stop popping? The simplest, yet probably the hardest, way is to just stop cracking. You will feel worse for a couple of weeks, however after that you will feel much better.

In the meantime, work on strengthening your muscles, since stronger muscles don’t need to work as hard in keeping your lax ligaments in place.

Also undertake stretching exercises (without any manipulation or pressure) within your normal range of movement. Physical therapists use joint mobilization within the passive range of motion to treat injuries such as whiplash.