Stop cracking your fingers!

[Leaflet]

My brother is constantly cracking his fingers and I keep telling him that it will cause problems later on. He told me that that was only a myth. What can I say to make him stop?

 

[Redsky]

Tell him it's annoying and/or that it grosses you out? Ask him to do it only when he's alone? It's kind of bad manners to be constantly cracking your knuckles in front of people, honestly.

He's right, though, in that it's a myth that cracking your knuckles will cause you harm later.

 

[Greyhair]

I don't know if it's just a myth or not, but I have ever read that cracking your knuckles will destroy the 'balls of oil' (as odd as they may sound) which act as a lubricant for your joints.

 

[Marjorie]

It won't give you arthritis or anything, but popping your joints frequently may lead to overstretched ligaments and possible injury. I don't think it's a great habit, especially since it's so annoying, but there are worse ones.

 

[question]

Indirectly it could give you arthritis then. Some recent studies show that people with over stretched ligaments are more prone to arthritis. You can over stretch them in a lot of ways, not just cracking your joints.

 

[DanikaM]

It can lead to some problems of the joints in anything that is constantly being "cracked" or "popped" I'm not fully certain of the idea of arthritis but cracking will cause problems with the fluid in your joints. If it's easy to crack your joints then it means they are weak which can lead to a lot of other problems and eventually a lot of pain.

 

[Weezle]

It may be annoying but it does feel much better when you crack your knuckles. I've done it for years and it hasn't bothered mine yet. The "crack" is when the gases in the synovial fluid is expelled from the fluid and out of the joint. If anything it would allow the fluid to work in greater contact with the articulating surfaces.

 

[HerbalMajik]

I tried to make him stop today. I showed him how annoying it is by trying to crack my knuckles around him. Didn't work... It hurt too much to keep going and he barely noticed.

 

[heytacos]

Ladies do this too so do not let it fool you into thinking only men do it. Get some documentation from a doctor and present it to him. I can tell you first hand its a hard habit to break, I am still working on it.

 

[Leaflet]

Ladies do this too so do not let it fool you into thinking only men do it. Get some documentation from a doctor and present it to him. I can tell you first hand its a hard habit to break, I am still working on it.

I have never seen a woman crack her fingers! I guess they just aren't as blunt about it.

 

[Greyhair]

I have never seen a woman crack her fingers! I guess they just aren't as blunt about it.

My wife does it all the time. I know this habit is difficult to break, I just told her not to do it so often. Well, at least she doesn't do it in church.