The popping sound habitual knuckle crackers make may be annoying — or even alarming — but are they actually harming themselves? The research is somewhat limited but generally concludes that ...

I’ve got my fair share of unconscious habits: running my hands through my hair, tapping my feet, pursing my lips when I’m concentrating—and, of course, cracking my knuckles. That last one is perhaps ...

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There are many reasons people crack or pop their knuckles. Some do it as a nervous tic, others do it because of restlessness, still others do it to relieve pressure and stiffness and then some, ...

I have a routine for when I get home from work: Crack each toe, then my ankles, both knees, pelvic bone (a particularly good one), twist-crack my lower back, both shoulders, my wrists, then each and ...

Each joint contains a lubricating substance known as synovial fluid. When you stretch or expand the space inside a joint, the pressure within that joint drops. The sharp pop of a knuckle crack can be ...

Many of us have heard that cracking your knuckles is bad for you, and can even increase your chances of developing arthritis down the line. As a kid, this alleged factoid quickly scared me out of what ...

When you’re feeling a bit tense or nervous, it’s not unusual to crack your knuckles. It may even be something you do for fun or heard other people do when you were growing up. Some people crack ...

An age-old urban legend that claims cracking one’s knuckles will lead to arthritis may be old in every middle school child’s repertoire, but a look at the scientific literature finds that there is ...