Is Cracking Your Knuckles Good For You? Here's The Truth!

You either love or despise the sound of knuckles or other joints cracking. You may have heard that it can lead to arthritis, it’s bad for your joints, and you shouldn’t do it. But is that true?

Watch this week’s video where Dr. Rob debunks and clarifies some common myths about cracking!

https://youtu.be/pwnSaZYCnmU

We’ve all experienced joint noises, knees that snap when we stand up, a neck that cracks when we turn our head, or ankles that pop when we rotate them. So what is that sound? Is it bad?

It’s the release of gasses from our joint capsules when the joint is stretched. When the space in the joint is increased at the end of it;s range of motion the gasses release from the synovial fluid, creating a bubble that quickly POPS creating a cracking sound.

It’s similar to when you open a pop can and the carbon dioxide in the pop is released, making a PSST sound.

When this gas is released nothing bad or harmful happens so there is no damage to the joint or surrounding tissues as long as the joint is taken to end range gently.

Cracking joints is only a problem when you’re using a lot of force like twisting over a chair or cranking your neck to crack it. When you start using a lot of force you could actually end up straining a joint or hurting yourself because your muscles aren’t relaxed.

So can you skip the chiropractor and just crack everything at home then?

This probably isn’t a good idea. While cracking your own joints may provide temporary relief to that nagging feeling of needing to get a joint to move, you’re unfortunately not as effective as a chiropractor! Chiropractors go to school for 4 years to learn how to get your muscles to relax and get you in the best position to “crack” or adjust a joint. It will be more comfortable, and like Dr. Rob said, probably much more effective and fast!

Speed is important for adjustments because when you get adjusted at a certain speed, little mechanical receptors near your joint get stretched in a way that causes them to reboot and reset. These mechanical receptors help your body determine where your joint is in space so when they get rebooted your brain-body connection works much better!

This means you can move better, you’re probably going to feel better, and your brain is going to be able to communicate with your body a little better.

So if you’re someone who’s constantly cracking your neck, back, knees, ankles, etc to get relief then you may want to see the difference between a professional cracking and an at home crack.

Come in and see one of our 5 amazing chiropractors to experience a professional adjustment!

WE ARE OPEN for chiropractic, physiotherapy and massage!

Call (519)885-5433, email info@pricehealth.ca, or click at the top of the page to book online.