10/12/2026
MYTH MONDAY: “Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis.”
You’ve probably heard this one since you were a kid. The good news is that the research doesn’t back it up.
What actually makes the “pop”?
Your joints are surrounded by a capsule filled with fluid. When you stretch the joint, the pressure inside drops and a gas cavity forms quickly. That’s the sound. A 2015 study used real-time MRI to watch it happen, and the pop happens when the cavity forms, not because anything is grinding or breaking, or moving alignment.
So does it cause arthritis?
Several studies have compared people who crack their knuckles regularly with people who don’t. They found no meaningful difference in hand arthritis rates. One doctor even cracked the knuckles on only one hand for about 60 years and found no difference in arthritis between his two hands.
When should you pay attention?
A painless pop is nothing to worry about. If a joint pops along with pain, swelling, locking, or reduced motion, that’s worth having checked out.
Same idea when you hear a pop during a chiropractic adjustment. It’s the same gas release, and it’s not bones “going back into place.”
