Addicted to cracking

jimothyjim · #1 08-11-2009, 03:55 PM

By cracking I mean, cracking your knuckles or your wrist or whatever joint you please. Does anyone else find themselves compelled to do it?

I know that people say it gives you arthritis later in life and stuff, but I cannot stop. If I do something like typing for a while my fingers actually get stiff and uncomfortable until I crack them. I know a lot of people that absolutely hate the sound of people cracking their knuckles as well, but they don't know the addiction :P Sometimes I'll do it without even thinking, it's buried into my subconcious because I've done it so much.

Dacimannes · #2 08-11-2009, 04:33 PM

I actually cracked my back while I read the 'intro'. So I could say that I know the problem. My little brother has it too, though it's worse with him. Gives me goosebumbs listening to it.

Arrakiv · #3 08-11-2009, 05:00 PM

Neck, back, and fingers pretty frequently. It tends to relieve pain/stiffness, so I consider it totally worth it. Really, I end up cracking them while simply stretching and not with any real intent to do so.

jimothyjim · #4 08-11-2009, 05:03 PM

I'm not so good at clicking my back, I occasionally click it by accident when trying to do my knees but i've yet to master it. Luckily I never feel the need to click my back though. Last time I did it it clicked like 3 times in about half a second, sounded like breaking and I was like WOAHwut, luckily all was fine.

echo65 · #5 08-11-2009, 07:15 PM

My older brother made me start cracking my knuckles when I was 8 or so. So yeah I do it pretty regularly. Weirdest one I do is that I can crack the joint where my thigh bone connects to my hip...

Mishy · #6 08-11-2009, 09:52 PM

I crack my neck and it sounds all funny i can fel the bones grinding = D

You only get Arthritis if it hurts when you do it, thats the rule with cracking.

Don't do it if it hurts

jimothyjim · #7 08-11-2009, 09:57 PM

Oooh, if that's the rule I'm safe then. Whew. I can click my thumb just over and over and over if I want, but I don't becaue I have to force that so it's not the loosening feeling that I enjoy.

I think I can get something like 34 joints to click regularly, with a few random ones that don't happen so often.

futureBrian · #8 08-11-2009, 10:25 PM

According to my chiropractor, cracking any joint by stretching it naturally is fine. You only cause problems if you do it by jerking the joint, stretching it unnaturally or jerking it. So, cracking your knuckles by rolling your fist against your palm is safe, but doing it by pulling your fingers away from your hand or by bending them backwards is not safe. Based on his advice, I crack my own back every morning by stretching over the back of a chair.

jimothyjim · #9 08-12-2009, 04:09 AM

Well, I heard through a guy on the internet who heard from a chiropracter that it's fine. That's more than enough for me.

wastelander75 · #10 08-12-2009, 05:19 AM

I crack my middle fingers a lot by placing my thumb and first fingers on the main middle joints and then pushing left to right. That's about the extent of my cracking per say, unless you count the pops and cracks I do just getting out of bed in the mornings when I stretch. yeah yeah I know, I'm getting old. Quit reminding me.