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Cracking Knuckles: Studies
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No, popping or cracking your knuckles does not cause arthritis. Ask Yahoo! covered this topic back in 2002. Scientists studied 300 habitual knuckle crackers and found no link between cracking one's knuckles and the development of arthritis.
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"Scientists have conducted few studies on whether cracking your knuckles can cause arthritis or otherwise harm your hands. Some studies suggest that you can snap your knuckles all you wish, and it won't cause osteoarthritis. However, other studies indicate that around-the-clock cracking may damage the soft tissue around the joints, make your hand swell, and weaken your grip."
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A single event is not enough to cause damage to the joint, although there is a hypothesis that prolonged joint stress due to cracking knuckles may eventually lead to a higher risk of joint damage. However, the long-term consequences of this practice have not been studied thoroughly, and the scientific evidence is inconclusive. The common parental advice "cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis" is not supported by any evidence, but habitual knuckle crackers are more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength.[6]
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There is no evidence that cracking knuckles causes any damage such as arthritis in the joints. However, a couple of reports in the medical literature are available associating knuckle cracking with injury of the ligaments surrounding the joint or dislocation of the tendons ( attachments of muscles to bones) which improved with conservative treatment. A study found that after many years of cracking habitual knuckle crackers may have reduced grip strength compared with people not cracking their knuckles.
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There have been a few studies over the years that considered whether or not cracking knuckles caused arthritis. One study found that there was no increase of hand arthritis among knuckle crackers... knuckle cracking was related to hand swelling and lower grip strength.
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[C]racking your knuckles is neither harmless nor desirable. The arthritis connection may be an old wives' tale, but cracking your knuckles can hurt your hand in other ways, and there's no benefit to it. Some students crack their knuckles after writing a great deal, but cracking knuckles isn't a solution for writer's cramp. Instead, take a break, and bend and stretch out your fingers a few times.
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