Is clicking you fingers harmful?

B

BloodSuckingGerbile

Master of Puppets
Registered Senior Member
Is clicking your finger (or any other) joints harmful?

I read that the clicking sound is caused by escaping CO<sub>2</sub>, so I conclude it's not.

Or is it? :bugeye:
 
I hate the habit, and I believe strongly that it is harmful, though I don't have a shred of proof. :p I yell at people when they do it (or forcibly stop them!) and would never do it myself.
 
It is harmful, as it creates an gas bubble in between your joints, stretching the tendons a little. Over time this leads to early arthritis.
 
eek5.gif


I've been clickin' for over 6 years now...

Looks like I'm going to get early arthritis. Yay!



scared.gif


P.S. How early?
 
I also "click" or "crack" very often - about 3x in ten minutes. Fingers, knuckles, neck, back. Harmful, disgusting, yes, but i'm addicting, i tried going cold turkey once - i started twtiching (yes, really) :D
 
when I'm warming up every day it is inevitable.
I strech and move all my body parts and then the cracking is frequently heard.
 
Originally posted by Avatar
when I'm warming up every day it is inevitable.
I strech and move all my body parts and then the cracking is frequently heard.
Click to expand...

Yeah Me too , and I spoke to me Dr he said that its a very old fashioned Idea to just leave your joints stiff, and can lead to more injury if you dont stretch them.
 
Spoke to one of the orthopedic surgeons here at work who says that there's no evidence of joint cracking causing any lasting damage and it is indeed just the expulsion of gas build up in the joint.

Regular stretching exercises will stretch the muscle and tendon surrounding most joints to a degree where thay are more flexible.This will not stop the build up of gas but the cracking should be less frequent.

 
We danced in graveyards, with vampires 'til dawn.
We laughed in the faces of kings, never afraid to burn

And is your place in heaven worth giving up these kisses?
Click to expand...
bbcboy, your sig is fantastic:):)
from where does it come?
 
The larger sig is from a song called Little earthquakes By Tori Amos from the album of the same name.

the other is the same artist but I can't remember the name of the song If you PM me as a reminder I'll dig it out and get back to ya. It's about a dying relationship and sung from the perspective of the one who wants it to live. another line is

"And I know that I have been driven like the snow, but this is cooling faster than I can"

In fact as I write I think it may be called cooling but she mainly sings it live so I'm not too sure.

She fackin ace mate!!

Little earthquakes is the best album to start with but you, as I, may need to listen to it about six times before you get it (Her lyrics can be a little extreme)

Happy listening and now back to the plot......
 
I can only crack my knuckles if I punch something...and my hip cracks sometimes...my knees don't exactly crack, but I feel my kneecap shifiting around...I "crack" my jaws to relieve ear pressure after swimming, but that doesn't really count...*wanders off* :rolleyes: :D
 
I've only recently been able to crack my knuckles. It started when I started work. Maybe it is stress related or something.
 
I never new that your culture had jobs Thor. Is there a high employmet rate on the Asgard home world. Or are you all in the Military trying to fight off the replicators?
 
Avatar, I am glad to see you still posting; what an asset you have become to this site.

Popping your knuckles or clicking your fingers is not as bad as you may think. The usual argument is that it causes arthritis but research shows this not to be the case. Like anything when done to excess, other types of damage may occur with such things as stretching of the surrounding ligaments and a decrease in grip strength.
The sound is produced in the joint when bubbles burst in the Synovial fluid surrounding the joint.
The gas itself is always there but dissolved in the thick clear Synovial fluid. When you pull the joint you decrease the pressure therefore reduce the amount of gas the liquid can hold. This is called cavitation and is the same thing as what causes the bends or bubbles to appear from nowhere when you open a bottle of pop; a decrease in pressure reduces the amount of gas the liquid can hold.
After a pop the gas should take half an hour to re-dissolve again so, until this happens, you will not be able to repeat the noise in that joint no matter how hard you try!
 
RE: http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=10108

Avatar, I am glad to see you still posting; what an asset you have become to this site.

Popping your knuckles or clicking your fingers is not as bad as you may think. The usual argument is that it causes arthritis but research shows this not to be the case. Like anything when done to excess, other types of damage may occur with such things as stretching of the surrounding ligaments and a decrease in grip strength.
The sound is produced in the joint when bubbles burst in the Synovial fluid surrounding the joint.
The gas itself is always there but dissolved in the thick clear Synovial fluid. When you pull the joint you decrease the pressure therefore reduce the amount of gas the liquid can hold. This is called cavitation and is the same thing as what causes the bends or bubbles to appear from nowhere when you open a bottle of pop; a decrease in pressure reduces the amount of gas the liquid can hold.
After a pop the gas should take half an hour to re-dissolve again so, until this happens, you will not be able to repeat the noise in that joint no matter how hard you try!
 
I'm intriqued! Damage caused from clicking must also depend on how much effort you put into it and how constantly you do it. You'd probably get calluses first.

Backslash777: Profound answer. Do you also know why your foot falls asleep? When I sit on a chair while computering I sometimes put my leg under my other. When it falls asleep it's paralyzed and I can barely move - can't feel a thing for a few minutes. Any idea why doc?
 
Falls asleep? ha! It's because the blood circulation stops. With one leg you pressed on other's blood-vessels.

I'm glad to see you, Backslash777, still operational too. :)
 
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