00:00Stop that right now or you will get arthritis.
00:02How many times have you heard a parent or teacher say that when you were just trying
00:06to relieve a little tension in your hands?
00:08It is one of the most common health warnings we hear growing up.
00:12But today we are going to find out if it is actually true or if your parents were just
00:16annoyed by that loud poking sound.
00:17You might wonder what exactly is happening inside your hand.
00:21To make such a loud noise, is it your bones rubbing together or something breaking?
00:25Actually, your bones are not grinding against each other at all.
00:28Inside your joints, there is a thick-slip liquid calcium on the fluid that acts like a lubricant
00:32or mortar oil to keep everything moving smooth.
00:34This fluid is full of dissolved gases like nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
00:38When you pull or bend your finger to crack it, you are stretching the space between the bones,
00:43which causes the pressure to drop suddenly.
00:45This drop in pressure causes the dissolved gases to rush out of the fluid and form tiny
00:49bubbles, a process, and is called cavitation.
00:51That bulb you hear is actually the sound of those gas bubbles, either forming or collapsing.
00:55But wait, you might ask, why can you not just crack the same knuckle 10 times in a row?
01:00The reason is that once those bubbles form and pour, the gases need time to dissolve back
01:04into the fluid before they can make the sound again.
01:06This is called a refractive react and it actually and it usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes for
01:11the joint to reset.
01:13So if you are a habitual cracker, you probably find yourself waiting for that timer to run out,
01:17so you can get that satisfying feeling again.
01:19Now for the million-dollar question, is the arthritis whirling actually a myth?
01:23The short answer is yes, it is a myth.
01:25And we know this thanks to one very dedicated ask that he could do, doctor named Dollar Uncle.
01:29For 50 years, he cracked the knuckles on his left hand at least twice a day but never touched
01:34the knuckles on his right hand.
01:35After cracking his left hand over 36,000 times, he took x-rays and found absolutely no difference
01:40in arthritis between his two hands.
01:42He even won a funny science award called the IG Nobel Prize for proving his mom was wrong.
01:47Larger studies with hundreds of people have also looked into this and found that there is
01:51no real link between cracking and churn damage like osteoarthritis.
01:54Does this means there are no risks at all?
01:56Well, that depends on how you do it.
01:58Some older studies suggest that long-term knuckle cracking might lead to a weaker grip
02:02or slightly more swelling in your hands.
02:04However, more recent research has found exactly the opposite, showing no difference in grip strength
02:08at all, so it is still a bit of a debate among scientists.
02:11There have also been very real cases where someone cracked their knuckles so forcefully
02:15that they actually screen a ligament or move a tendon out of place.
02:19Because of this, the advice from doctor is to keep it gentle and not try to force a crack
02:24that is not happening yesterday.
02:25When should you actually be worried?
02:27If you ever feel pain, cease swelling or notice your fingers look roped after cracking,
02:32that is a major red flag.
02:33Harmless knuckle cracking should never hurt.
02:35If it does, you might have an underlying injury or a condition like a torn ligament or damaged cartilage
02:40that needs to be checked out by a professional.
02:42But for most of us, that hoping sound is just a psychological hack that helps us release
02:46a little bit of nervous energy or stress.
02:48So the next time someone tells you the joke because you are ruining your joints,
02:52you can tell them that the sign says your hands are joined just fine,
02:55even if the sound is driving them crazy.
02:57mind hoping your hands truthfully
02:58becomes really true.
02:58Love you?
02:59Sometimes.
03:16OK.
03:17Now be careful.
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