Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Full Version)

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[Poll]

Cracking joints/fingers yes or no?


Yes and I think its no problem
  52% (9)
Yes but I think its unhealthy
  5% (1)
No and I think its no problem
  17% (3)
No and I think its unhealthy
  23% (4)


Total Votes : 17
(last vote on : Mar. 9 2012 19:45:09) 


Message


XXX -> Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 12:45:02)

No matter how much the docs say that cracking is unhealthy, I must say it helps so much in "freeing" a finger from its stiffness. It feels better removing the blockade, the finger moves easier afterwards. But I have a gut feeling that many people do this and they dont seem to experience any negative effects from it. Hence my question:

Do you crack your fingers?




Elie -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 13:00:22)

actually I do but also I try to avoid it as much as I can ... but sometimes I just can't help but doing it.
I agree with you "it helps so much in "freeing" a finger from its stiffness" specially when playing the guitar
since I was a child and people try to convince me that cracking fingers is very bad in the long term i.e after years forward or getting old, I am not 100% convinced but well ...




Pgh_flamenco -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 13:49:44)

I've been doing this daily for 40 years and haven't had any issues. I saw something recently about the warnings related to cracking your knuckles being a myth. As long as you don't force it--and don't have any pain because of it--you shouldn't have any problems.




Ruphus -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 13:51:09)

An updated doc actually shouldn´t tell you to not.
Since quite a while the old believe has been disproven, according to which cracking would harm joints and result in a tremor later in age.

What happens with that cracking noise is just a gas reaction under pressure, its sound being no indicator for strain of tendons or cartilage.

I wouldn´t do its as a regular habit, but when things feel like itching for it, then it will probably just be right to give it a crack.

Ruphus




XXX -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 15:38:23)

The thing is ive been to many Orthopaedists, all of them saying I shouldnt do it. And even one specialist in hand surgery especially accentuated not doing it. I have weak joints and they mentioned cracking wouldnt do any good.
One time I stopped for like 2 weeks or so. Didnt notice any beneficial effect. But who knows, if I stopped for like 6 months, my joints would become better? I really dont know and I hope to get some experiences of other people, to help my decisions.




srshea -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 20:23:22)

Most of the "is cracking your knuckles good or bad" confusion is centered on the issue of arthritis, and there's no proven link between the two. But I think there are some studies that suggest that long-term, habitual knuckle cracking can lead to ligament damage, but I don't think there's any real overwhelming evidence of this.

I do it occasionally, and lightly, and feel that it's not a problem for me. I think if you're doing it all the time, and really wrenching on your fingers and using a lot of force to get the job done then that's probably not in your best interest over the long haul, but moderate and prudent cracking should be fine.

When your docs recommend against it are they simply saying that it has no therapeutic value and does no good, or do they site specific health concerns that might result?




vuduchyld -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 20:33:44)

I suppose it's possible to imagine a scenario in which you're cracking a knuckle or a finger and you torque it just a little too hard and that causes an acute injury of some type.

Occasionally, I do it, or maybe even get in a routine of doing it for a few days or even weeks, but then I'll go months without doing it, so I'm not too concerned.




Ron.M -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 20:47:06)

Everything you want to do is bad for you. Let's just face it.
Soon they'll say that farting can shorten your life for up to 5 years.
Just wait and see!
These well paid researchers and epidemiologists have got to justify their income every now and then by releasing a good news headline.

They are probably all doing crosswords or playing a silent guitar all day and looking at the clock, waiting for 5pm.

cheers,

Ron




kudo -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 21:45:24)

quote:

They are probably all doing crosswords or playing a silent guitar all day and looking at the clock, waiting for 5pm.
[:D][:D]

I am surprised that Ramzi didnt post here. what do you think Dr. El Rumbero?
I think its just like stretching anything in your body, its ok.




XXX -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 26 2012 21:47:31)

quote:

ORIGINAL: srshea
or do they site specific health concerns that might result?


Yes, the hand surgeon specialist sad i definitely need to stop it, or it'll get worse. Cant remember whether she gave it a reasoning or not, but she was very clear about that. She also mentioned that I could have a beginning arthritis. Yet the x-ray from the joints did not show any wear whatsoever. Dont know, maybe she was just trying to shock me. [:D]



quote:

ORIGINAL: vuduchyld
Occasionally, I do it, or maybe even get in a routine of doing it for a few days or even weeks, but then I'll go months without doing it, so I'm not too concerned.


I do it every day, dozens of times each day. Maybe something like 5 times per hour? I realize for example, when i try to play guitar, say a rasgeado i-a-i, and my fingers feel stiff i cant get it done in any way. Then I will just crack and its a difference like day and night??? Feels much better. And they say its bad. Go figure.

The longer I refrain from doing it, the stiffer the fingers get, up to a point where the most basic movement (non-guitar related) feels awkward to do, a little bit "blocked". Not fully blocked, but a little, if that makes sense o_O.




srshea -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 27 2012 5:03:58)

quote:

Dont know, maybe she was just trying to shock me. [:D]


Well, you're probably best off following the orders of your MDs rather than taking advice from a bunch of dudes on the internet, but it's always frustrating when a doc just tells you what without the why. Sorry your hands are giving you trouble. There's zero fun in that...




Arash -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 27 2012 5:42:02)

yes and i think its no problem.
i do that several times daily since i am a child and no proplems



i think its the same myth like parents telling their children if they do this..




one day they can't move their eyes back to normal position and they will remain like that forever.

Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px




KMMI77 -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 27 2012 7:17:24)

quote:

I do it every day, dozens of times each day. Maybe something like 5 times per hour? I realize for example, when i try to play guitar, say a rasgeado i-a-i, and my fingers feel stiff i cant get it done in any way. Then I will just crack and its a difference like day and night??? Feels much better. And they say its bad. Go figure.


I have noticed that people who crack joints eventually have to do it regularly. I have never been into cracking joints or knuckles and my hands don't ever require it. Now even when i try to make my joints crack, they don't.




akatune -> [Deleted] (Feb. 28 2012 0:26:45)

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Jan. 4 2013 2:15:12




XXX -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 28 2012 9:23:53)

quote:

ORIGINAL: akatune
You know, in the southern area of the states, cracking your knuckles is slang for tossing off. : D just thought you might find that interesting.


haha. Definitely so! [:D]

quote:

best off following the orders of your MDs rather than taking advice from a bunch of dudes on the internet


you probably are right. But still im interested in the empirical results, of people with "real" experiences. Thing is medicine is not clear in that field i think. And the doc just examined me for 5 min or so.

quote:

Maybe it becomes necessary because you've developed the habit.


I am positive there are people who make this because of a habit. But in my experience with it, it just became more when my fingers began to feel stiffer. That was in 2009 and increasingly in the years after. I remember in 2008 when i was play hard & alot I did not crack nearly as much as now, and my fingers feel worse nowadays, although i rarely paly the guitar.


Anyway, but i was really after some experiences of you guys. It may not be helpful in each specific case, but it would help to get an idea whether people think it harms or not generally.




srshea -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 28 2012 19:23:10)

quote:

But still im interested in the empirical results, of people with "real" experiences. Thing is medicine is not clear in that field i think. And the doc just examined me for 5 min or so.


Yeah. That’s why I asked if any of the MDs had given specific and concrete reasons for proscribing it. I’ve encountered a surprising and disappointing number of docs who have an absence of intellectual curiosity and who are unwilling to think beyond their own immediate understanding of certain things (I once went to a GI specialist for a disorder I was having trouble getting diagnosed, and after a few visits and tests and $1,500+ in out of pocket expenses, I asked if he could tell me what was going on. He shrugged his shoulders and said “Ya got me!” And that was it. It was pretty clear that he wasn’t interested pursuing the matter any further, since he had exhausted the possibilities of what he expected the problem might be.) And in general I really don’t like being told what to do or what not to do by a doc unless they can give a clear and convincing reason behind it.

It’s hard to shake the sense that there’s a certain chicken and the egg circular logic at play in this issue. If your joints are healthy, you’re probably not going to feel the need to crack your knuckles all that often. If your joints are already messed up and you can find some relief from your symptoms by cracking your knuckles, then that’s what you’re going to do, a little or a lot, as the case may be. But does that cracking exacerbate the problem, or is the problem already getting worse on its own? And does cracking lead to more cracking in a cause and effect way, or is it that underlying and already worsening problem that leads you to crack more and more often? Pretty easy to start chasing your own tail on this issue without definitive clinical proof one way or the other, and like you say, medicine’s not all that clear on this one.

About ten years ago I cut the middle joint of my index finger pretty bad. I should have gotten it sutured or whatever, but I was cheap and stoic to I just made a splint out of some chopsticks and let it heal on its own. Which took quite a while. Having that joint totally immobilized for so long led to it being pretty stiff and having a reduced range of motion, and it was like that for several years. I used to have to crack that knuckle all the time to relieve the stiffness, but over time it got gradually better, and now I have, say, 98% mobility as compared to the same finger on the other hand, no stiffness or discomfort worth mentioning, and what I would essentially regard as a full recovery. I think the countless rasgeados I’ve done with that finger have been therapeutic, since it’s really just in the past few years the problem has finally cleared up, but cracking that knuckle was definitely helpful in keeping the joint loosened up over the years. So, that’s my own anecdotal experience on the matter. Take it for what it’s worth…




Ron.M -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 28 2012 19:32:20)

quote:

I’ve encountered a surprising and disappointing number of docs who have an absence of intellectual curiosity and who are unwilling to think beyond their own immediate understanding of certain things


Too busy spending their time studing the NASDAQ prices on their office computer and planning next month's scuba diving holiday probably..

cheers,

Ron




srshea -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 28 2012 19:49:44)

Ron, I say this with nothing but the utmost respect and admiration: you are just about the crankiest bastard I have ever encountered.




Ron.M -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 28 2012 19:56:39)

Except for Doit! [:D]

cheers,

Ron




machopicasso -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 28 2012 23:54:07)

I don't know whether cracking one's knuckles is bad, nor am I up-to-date on the best available science on this issue. I would however suggest that cracking knuckles isn't the only way to relieve tension in the fingers and hands.

There are a number of yoga stretches for the wrists, hands, and fingers which I think are effective for alleviating stress and promoting flexibility: http://fingeryoga.com/backwards/index.php




ToddK -> RE: Cracking joints/fingers yes or no? (Feb. 29 2012 0:55:52)

Dispersing the synovial fluid from your joint is actually called "Cavitation".

If you read into synovial joints, and fluid, you'll see why there's no
connection between cracking, and any pain or flexibility issues.

You're just displacing fluid. The danger is in the way one may hyper extend
the joint in order to crack it.

There are people that go to crack a knuckle one day, and end up tearing
ligament. So in that way, it can be called hazardous.

But i dont think any doctor could ever definatively connect cavitation with arthritis or the like.




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