You ’ve heard it before . You ’re in a quiet way in   among a gather of people , and then — POP!—a little crack randomness hoop out , followed by another , and another , and another . For some , crack knuckles is a substance abuse , while for others that little pop brings alleviation . And it ’s not just earmark for tough guys before they flap people up : Between 25 and 54 percent of all people crack their knuckle joint multiple times a day . But is the quondam wives ’ tale true ? Are these knuckle - cracker more likely to hurt their bridge player and bit by bit develop arthritis as they get older ?

In short , nope ! Despite the rumor that kids constantly hear , it turn out there is no scientific coefficient of correlation between cracking your knuckles anddeveloping arthritis in your joints , which is when one or more of the points where your pearl fill develop inflammation .

When you crack your knuckles , you ’re actually doing moreburstingthan cracking . The popping dissonance you hear is stimulate by pocket-size house of cards bristle in yoursynovial fluid , a yolk - similar marrow that lubricates the areas between bones and reduces friction for simpleness of social movement .

Jaysin Trevino, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

Here ’s how it works : When you make the movement to crack your knuckles — either by stretch along your fingers or bow them backwards — you expound the joint . This cause the pressure sensation between the roast   to lessen , as well as the ligament that link the bones and the joint ejector seat that holds all of it together . That depressurization causesgasseslike carbon dioxide , N , and O that are dissolved in the synovial fluid to take form into little bubbles that hie into the empty space . As the joints go under back into place , the fluid also returns to its rightful place and pop those small bubbles , causing that recognizable cracking sound .

The sensation of cracking your finger’s breadth feels right because the stretching of the joint also stimulates nerve endings found along the fingers ; joints ca n’t be cracked more than once within 15 minutes to a half time of day , which is about how long it accept for those gasses to dissolve back into your synovial fluid .

Among the scientific study conducted to prove that there is no correlation between crack your knuckles and degenerative joint disease , onepublished in theJournal of the American Board of Family Medicinein 2010 found that , among a group of 215 participant between the ages of 50 and 89 , arthritis was prevalent in about 18 percent of the people who crack their knuckles and in 21.5 pct who do n’t , making any correlation inconclusive . belike the most entertaining subject on the subject area is by aDr . Donald Ungerwho , inspired by his female parent ’s warnings as a fry about develop arthritis by incessantly cracking his knuckles , spent more than 60 years cracking only the knuckle duster on his unexpended hand at least twice a Clarence Day ( in this type , the veracious hired hand served as his restraint ) . His finding , published in 1998 in a daybook calledArthritis & Rheumatism , base there was no discernible preindication of arthritis in his remaining hand as opposed to his right .

So do n’t listen to what mom suppose , everybody — palpate free to break away !