Will you get arthritis if you keep cracking your fingers?

Many friends like to bend their fingers to make a "crackling" sound, thinking that this is very manly, but will this rough treatment of human joints damage our joints? Some netizens claim that bending fingers over time will cause arthritis in the fingers, so is this really the case?

The sound of bubbles bursting when cracking your knuckles

First, let's understand the structure of the joint. The two joint surfaces are surrounded by the joint capsule to form a sealed cavity, which is the basic structure of our joints. At the same time, there is a small amount of liquid in this cavity, which we call synovial fluid, which plays a role in lubrication and cushioning during daily joint movements, and is also a medium required for the metabolism of articular cartilage.

When people bend their fingers, they first fold the finger joints. Then the hyperextension and hyperflexion pulling the joints will enlarge the gap in the original joint closed cavity. In this closed space, if the gap becomes larger, the pressure in the joint capsule will inevitably decrease. At this time, the gas dissolved in the synovial fluid will precipitate to form tiny bubbles, which will continue to merge to form a larger bubble. When the bubbles merge to the maximum value, they burst and make a sound.

There is no research to prove that cracking your fingers can cause arthritis

There are two main types of common arthritis, one is related to abnormalities of the immune system, and the other is caused by degeneration and wear of the joints. For example, "rheumatoid arthritis" that we often hear about belongs to a type of immune system abnormality and is an autoimmune disease. For degenerative osteoarthritis, repeated damage to cartilage is believed to be one of the causes of the disease.

So, does cracking your knuckles increase the wear and tear of the articular cartilage and cause arthritis? An early study suggests that finger folding may cause related cartilage damage, which in turn causes osteoarthritis. However, subsequent studies have not found any link between long-term knuckle cracking and osteoarthritis. At present, the academic community generally believes that the claim that "cracking knuckles causes arthritis" lacks evidence to support it. So far, we have no evidence that it has a definite relationship with the onset of arthritis.

Cracking your fingers may cause acute damage to the ligaments around the joints

Although there is no basis for the claim that cracking your fingers causes arthritis, does that mean people can crack their fingers without restraint? The answer is no. If people use too much force or repeatedly bend their finger joints for a long time, it will indeed cause certain damage to the joint ligaments, articular cartilage and joint capsule, such as acute damage to the ligaments around the joints or tendon dislocation. This persistent damage may lead to the occurrence of secondary arthritis, which manifests as joint pain.

Well, some people crack their fingers, some do it just out of habit, and some do it because they feel comfortable. If you can't make any sound when you crack your fingers or cracking your fingers doesn't make you feel comfortable, then in order to avoid injury, change this habit.