LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Cracking Knuckles: Joints
built 501 days ago
Cracking knuckles can be an annoying habit. It makes an irritating sound and may cause joint problems. Many people that crack their knuckles find that it is an addiction; they habitually crack their knuckles throughout the day. However, you can break the habit of knuckle cracking.
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"Cracking" your knuckles is another related noise. What you're doing here is pushing the knuckle joint out of its normal position or back into its original position. When you do this, nitrogen gas is displaced and escapes from the joint space. This causes the characteristic cracking sound of knuckles. You might think that this is pretty harmless.
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Kids may develop a habit of cracking their knuckles because they like the sound. The "crack" comes because of a change in the synovial fluid, the lubricant that bathes the joints. When finger bones are suddenly stretched apart, the space between the joints widens, and an air bubble forms in the synovial fluid. The bubble quickly bursts and makes a sharp sound.
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That annoying sound of cracking knuckles will probably not progress to big knuckles or arthritis. There is a hint of truth... in that the process of cracking knuckle joints cause nitrogen bubbles to form. The popping sound comes from the bubbles collapsing. This in itself does not cause arthritis; however, an extended habit could eventually result in cartilage damage and swelling, perhaps progressing to a degenerative joint disease.
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Although mom warned you this would happen, there appears to be no truth to the old wives' tale that cracking knuckles eventually leads to arthritis or enlarged knuckles. This popular misconception arises from the mistaken notion that the popping sound is caused by scraping of cartilage or bone that in some way damages joints.
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There is no evidence that cracking one's knuckles can cause arthritis directly. However, repeated injury of a joint or repeatedly causing it to swell can injure the cartilage and potentially lead to degenerative joint disease.
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