Should you stop cracking your knuckles?
The article explores the common habit of knuckle cracking, debunking the myth that it causes arthritis through the anecdotal evidence of Donald Unger. It explains the physiological process of joint cracking, which involves the collapse of gas bubbles within synovial fluid.
Why it matters
It addresses a common health myth and provides scientific context for a widespread physical habit.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Sandy Ong BBC/ Serenity Strull/ Getty Images Like a firework exploding in the joint – here's everything you need to know about cracking your knuckles.
Growing up, Donald Unger was warned – by his mother, several aunts, and later his mother-in-law – that constant knuckle cracking would cause arthritis. Determined to prove them wrong, he cracked his left knuckles at least twice a day for 50 years – around 36,500 cracks in total – while leaving his right untouched.
In 1998, aged 72, he took X-rays of both hands to find out the result of his lifelong endeavour. "There was no arthritis in either hand, and no apparent differences in the two hands," he concluded .
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