Apparently there are both mental and physical reasons behind why people have the urge to crack their knuckles. The real question though is, is it healthy?
“From a mental standpoint, it’s almost a nervous habit for some people, much like drumming their fingers or biting their nails,” says Michael Suk, M.D., chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at Geisinger Health System. “There’s a feeling associated with doing it as a mental stress reliever. From a physical standpoint, I think what this study shows is as you create space in the knuckle, you’re decompressing the joint, so your finger feels less constrained.”
The Popping Sound
What exactly is going on inside your hand when you hear the popping sound your knuckle makes? It’s actually been a mystery that scientists have been trying to uncover for decades.
Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? was originally published on blackdoctor.org
