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Within a few minutes of picking up a guitar my fingers start to stiffen up, I crack them and then all is well, been doing this for 30 odd years now and the join
by ofalkaed 1mo ago
Within a few minutes of picking up a guitar my fingers start to stiffen up, I crack them and then all is well, been doing this for 30 odd years now and the joints of my hands are some of the few which don't cause me problems at this point in my life. I never could crack my knuckles before I started playing guitar and if I stop playing for a few weeks, I cease being able to crack my knuckles.
These articles on knuckle cracking never seem to say anything but state, but sort of maybe could be but your aunt is almost certainly wrong unless or maybe in certain exceptions. For the majority of people I think we crack our knuckles for the same reason we often stretch when we get up, it relieves a tension that needs relieving.
- saidnooneever 1mo agothere are 2 type of cracking. from guitar i have same, its ok, some fluid goes out because ur tendons are longer and there is some space. something like that (i am not medical person ofc). then there is 'forced' cracking, which will be more difficult to do because its actually going to crack things that are un healthy. it destroy some soft crap between the bones. both are not healthy but first is much less destructive and wont lead to chronic issues as fast/often as the later which much more often has that result later.. the second forced one u rly need to put some pressure or pull them hard etc its not about getting rid of that stiffness u talk about. i did that for 15 years and my fingers/hands are fine. (stopped playin so that also went away eventually, mostly)
- snarfy 1mo agoThe tension is in the fluid with gas compressed into it. Cracking causes a suction that pops the gas out, and now you have a bubble. Maybe that bubble is supposed to be there.
- podocarp 1mo agoNo, the bubble is never there. The bubble only appears when you stretch it, and the pop comes from the bubble bursting. Would be weird just having a bubble of gas in your joints.
- kibwen 1mo ago[dead]
- DANmode 1mo agoAncestors used to walk on knuckles, it hurts or is uncomfortable for some not to crack - maybe it isn’t.
- tapland 1mo agoI can feel some kind of tension after a short bit of using my hands, and cracking my knuckles relieves it and allows me to continue without any issues. Usually I have to crack them before falling asleep, since the feeling of tension keeps me from sleeping. Doctors never thought this was an issue and I have no joint damage (checked for other reasons).
- hasley 1mo agoI also crack my fingers in the morning, over the day, and before sleeping. I also feel this "tension". But I am not sure whether it is a real "tension" or something my brain makes up to force me crack my knuckles which gives some perceived relief. Maybe I am just addicted to this relief. I haven't seen any research on this urge to crack and the possible tension. Is this a physical tension, some psychologically perceived tension due to an addiction, or something else?
- DANmode 1mo agoGas buildup, is the best theory I’ve read.
- podocarp 1mo agoIs it a theory, I thought it was exactly what causes it. The stretching depressurizes the liquidy thing in the joints and that causes dissolved gases to bubble out of solution in nucleation points. It's not really gas build up, but more like opening a can of coke, the pressure drop causes the equilibrium to shift and brings dissolved gases out of solution. At least that's what I thought it was.
- arjie 1mo agoI do this through the day etc but in my case it feels quite clear that the two are unrelated. The stiffness is in muscles, tendons, and ligaments and feels very similar to that in other parts of my body. In the hand, performing the stretching actions causes cracking. In my ankle etc, it does not but the stretching and twisting has the same effect on the stiffness I experience.
- 2Gkashmiri 1mo agoI grew up and around 7-8 I started cracking my neck. It was like an accordian. For years it worked. Now I get maybe one crack every few weeks but the magic is gone. Same for my hands. I was "voracious" cracker, now my fingers get 10% of the cracks I used to get. I still am able to crack my back, lower back by tugging on my belt and that releases a lot of uumpf. For upper back, I lay on my back, put my knuckles below the spine and go down one by one. Satisfying. I also have a problem. Every time I stand for a long time, do some work standing up, my lower back is like dead. So I get someone to get on my sacro-illiac joint I think and a loud crack and I'm fit as a fiddle. I'm weird
- specproc 1mo agoThe back crack is excellent. If I feel it getting sore, it fixes it every time.
- IAmBroom 1mo agoI can relieve cramping in my feet by cracking my toes. Cracking is 100% useful in certain instances, and I have never seen evidence that it causes any harm.