So someone smart out there tell me!!!?

What is happening when you "crack" your knuckles / neck? Can it hurt you down the line?...

summer l	u can get arthritides..and wen ur old ur hands r gonna have a habit of shaking..=) hope taht helps?
prettyinpink4life20	yeah you will develop arthritis down the line
Toni	You should never crack your knuckles they enlarge. My sisters are huge now. I'm not sure about your neck
s2bee	Joint Cracking...Fact & Fiction "Cracking joints" are an interesting and poorly understood phenomenon. There are many theories as to why joints crack or pop, but the exact cause is simply not known. Painless cracking of joints is as a rule not harmful. However, common sense generally would suggest that the intentional and repetitive cracking of one's joints not only is potentially socially bothersome but also could be physically troublesome when it produces pain. Knuckle "cracking" has not been shown to be harmful or beneficial. More specifically, knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis. Joint "cracking" can result from a negative pressure pulling nitrogen gas temporarily into the joint, such as when knuckles are "cracked." This is not harmful. "Cracking" sounds can also be heard if tendons snap over tissues because of minor adjustments in their gliding paths. This can occur with aging as muscle mass and action change. If cracking is accompanied by pain, there could be underlying abnormalities of the structures of the joint, such as loose cartilage or injured ligaments. Some patients with arthritis (inflammation of joints, usually painful), bursitis, or tendinitis notice "cracking" sounds, or crepitus, with joint movements, due to the snapping of irregular, swollen tissues.
related ego	You are releasing nitrogen from between the knuckles. I t does you no harm
Bigman99	No, the whole thing that it deteriorates your bones thing is just a myth. It is just air in between your knuckles.
Shannon	No it's a myth that you get arthritis. All it does is release the pockets of air around your joints (that's why if you crack your knuckles frequently your joints are more loose and also that's why you can't crack your knuckles again right after you've cracked them.... there aren't any pockets of air).
kay_flood	all you are doing when you "crack your knuckles or neck" or any part of your body for that matter, is releasing tension in ligaments. It will not hurt you or cause any damage over the long term.
Leader	yes
mel	yes it stiffens up your knuckles as you age. always best not to do it, and I am proof :( young snots, read it now, believe it later.:)))
DC ( I Rock) -Awesome-	it can hurt u, supposedly it can give u arthritis or something like that
Marriedtothearmy 2	What's really happening when you "crack" your knuckles is that you are either pushing the joint back into or out of its normal position. There is no scientific evidence that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis. However, it can't be good to repeatedly push a joint beyond its normal physical range.
n ikes?	"cracking" them releases built up oxygen out between the bones. it can not hurt you down the line.
pyrodave	It little bubbles of fluid releasing from your joints. Some folks say it can cause arthritis, and others say there is no harm.
hey culligan man	It is a myth that cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis. The popping sound is just air being released from your joints. I get a lot of relief out of cracking my neck. It's ok for a chiropractor to crack you back, shoulders and neck.
PRGfUSMC	There's no evidence that knuckle cracking causes arthritis. But it may cause temporary soreness of the joint. Knuckles are the joints that connect your fingers to your hand. These joints are surrounded and lubricated by synovial fluid, a thick, clear liquid. When you crack your knuckles, you're causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. This causes a gas bubble to form in the joint. The cracking or popping sound you hear is the breaking of the adhesive seal in the joint. It may take awhile for the joint to reseal before you can crack your knuckles again.
jg_dragon24	I was told that it can give you arthritis later down the road. but its air that gets trap between the bones. but im not at the age where its hurts or anythings but its a possiblility
Geoff C	you are popping gas pockets in your joints nitrogen i believe. no it doesnt cause artritis but you could crack them something out of joint or pull or stretch a ligement or tendon. the profesionals know how to do it at the right angles. chances are you will never hurt yourself so crack away....
cast_the_shadow	So i guess i'll throw this site at ya.... http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/joint.html
Craig A	Within every one of your joints is what's called articular cartilage, which is like bone but lacks Calcium and stays malleable like rubber, which allows the joints to move. There is fluid in these articulations called "synovial fluid" that surrounds the cartilage inside the joint. When you apply pressure by bending your knuckles to an extreme degree, the amount of pressure on the synovial fluid changes and can cause some of the dissolved gases to come out of solution as air bubbles and make a popping sound. Doing this once has no effect. But it is believed that repeated acts of joint popping may cause inflammation and arthritis years later if it is done habitually. Hope this helps. Craig
Vicky Z	no.
Michael H	you are squeezing nitrogen from your joints,, the long term problem is wear and tear on the joint,, which can lead to arthritis.
Devastator9383	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuckle_cracking
Kimmy	If you do it occasionally it will not. but if you continuously so it for 24/7 it might start to get painful but i dont believe anything serious is to come from it. The only thing that might happen is arthritis but take it easy..
I Have Parasites	Releasing a pocket of air from the knuckle area. No I do not believe it can hurt you down the line although some will say it can cause arthritis
Kimmer	You're cracking the joints. It's an old wives tale that you'll make your knuckles bigger too! Don't listen to anyone. It's like a Chiropractor cracking your back.
Xxmcr♥♥♥4everxX	yeah it will end up giving arthritis in the long run but i am not sure about the neck because i was wondering the same thing,all i know is that they are both very bad habits To produce the clicking sounds, many people bend their fingers into relatively unusual positions, that their own muscles are unable to achieve, and which are not commonly experienced in everyday use. For example, bending a finger backwards away from the palm (into extension), pulling them away from the hand (distraction), or compressing a finger knuckle toward the palm (into flexion). When a manipulation is performed, the applied force separates the articular surfaces of a fully encapsulated synovial joint, which in turn creates a reduction in pressure within the joint cavity. In this low pressure environment, some of the gases that are dissolved in the synovial fluid (which are naturally found in all bodily fluids) leave solution creating a bubble or cavity, which rapidly collapses upon itself, resulting in a "clicking" sound. The contents of this gas bubble are thought to be mainly carbon dioxide.[1] The effects of this process will remain for a period of time known as the "refractory period", which can range from a few minutes to some hours while it is slowly reabsorbed back into the synovial fluid. There is some evidence that ligament laxity may be associated with an increased tendency to cavitate.[2] Cracking within the body may also be caused by a bone being broken. In many early motion pictures and subsequently parodied in animated cartoons, the gesture of cracking knuckles was associated with a "tough guy" image, especially when accompanied by the implicit or explicit threat of violence. The physical mechanism is unproven, but possibilities that have been suggested include: cavitation within the joint – small cavities of partial vacuum form in the fluid then rapidly collapse, producing a sharp sound (this applies to the popping that can occur in any joint such as during chiropractic manipulation) rapid stretching of ligaments adhesions being broken, which simply means that as two cartilage surfaces are pressed together, they form adhesions, and when the joints are separated this makes the popping or cracking sound. The snapping of tendons or scar tissue over a prominence (as in snapping hip syndrome) can also generate a loud snapping or popping sound.[3] A single event is not enough to cause damage to the joint, although there is a hypothesis that prolonged joint stress due to cracking knuckles may eventually lead to a higher risk of joint damage. The long-term consequences of this practice have not been studied thoroughly, and the scientific evidence is inconclusive. However, the common parental advice "cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis" is not supported by any evidence, but habitual knuckle crackers are more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength.[4] While some people find cracking to be meditative, others find the practice to be disgusting and annoying to listen to. Another alternative description can be found in the e-book The Missing Owners Manual which describes the process of adhesions forming between cartilage surfaces[citation needed], and how chiropractic releases those adhesions.[5]