Do you Crack your Knuckles?

People tend to be split right down the middle when it comes to the
subject of knuckle cracking: they either love it, or the very idea of it
sends them into an episode of the gross-outs. Which camp are you in?

If you're a knuckle-cracker, raise your hand (unless you're too busy
cracking it, heh). Have you ever wondered why you're compelled to crack?
Drumroll... according to Dr. Rachel Vreeman, assistant professor of
pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine and co-author of Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!:
"There's not any hard science to explain why it's so addictive, but
certainly people speculate it's one of these activities that releases
nervous energy."




Like tapping your pen, chewing gum, biting your nails--cracking knuckles
a habit, even though you're not actually cracking anything: "That sound
you hear is synovial fluid vapor cavities--or gas bubbles--in the fluid
around your joints. With certain amounts of pressure you can make those
bubbles burst," Vreeman says.


And while studies have shown that knuckle-crackers are no more likely to
get arthritis than anyone else, but they do up their chances of hand
discomfort (like swelling, less hand strength, and finger or joint
injuries). So it's probably a good idea to leave your digits alone.