KNUCKLE CRACKING WON’T GIVE YOU ARTHRITIS

THIS idea has a certain logic. If you put pressure on your joints habitually over a lifetime, then it seems likely you’re going to do yourself some damage. However, in a study published in 1975, medics from the University of Southern California in the U.S. found no link between lifelong knuckle cracking and a higher incidence of arthritis. While their study of only 28 people was too small to be conclusive, no other evidence has since emerged to link the habit with arthritis. The characteristic ‘pop’ sound made when you crack your knuckles is due to tiny bubbles collapsing in the fluid of the joint as the pressure changes.