Cracking your knuckles: good, bad or just annoying?

2025-05-06

Download

You might’ve been told by parents, teachers, colleagues, friends of friends to stop cracking your knuckles because it will give you arthritis.There’s a surprising amount of science going on when you crack a joint, and it suggests there’s very little risk of harming your bones.But as Norman and Tegan explain, there is one major risk – you could irritate everybody around you.References: Mathematical Model for the Sounds Produced by Knuckle Cracking | Scientific Reports Does knuckle cracking lead to arthrit...

You might’ve been told by parents, teachers, colleagues, friends of friends to stop cracking your knuckles because it will give you arthritis.

There’s a surprising amount of science going on when you crack a joint, and it suggests there’s very little risk of harming your bones.

But as Norman and Tegan explain, there is one major risk – you could irritate everybody around you.

References:

Mathematical Model for the Sounds Produced by Knuckle Cracking | Scientific Reports
Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?
The Consequences of Habitual Knuckle Cracking
Effect of habitual knuckle cracking on hand function
There might not be anything wrong with your creaky joints - the Health Report
Misophonia: When sounds really do make you "crazy" - Harvard Health

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comments (3)