Effect of habitual knuckle cracking on hand function
One article on PainSci cites Castellanos 1990: The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
The relation of habitual knuckle cracking to osteoarthrosis with functional impairment of the hand has long been considered an old wives' tale without experimental support. The mechanical sequelae of knuckle cracking have been shown to produce the rapid release of energy in the form of sudden vibratory energy, much like the forces responsible for the destruction of hydraulic blades and ship propellers. To investigate the relation of habitual knuckle cracking to hand function 300 consecutive patients aged 45 years or above and without evidence of neuromuscular, inflammatory, or malignant disease were evaluated for the presence of habitual knuckle cracking and hand arthritis/dysfunction. The age and sex distribution of the patients (74 habitual knuckle crackers, 226 non-knuckle crackers) was similar. There was no increased preponderance of arthritis of the hand in either group; however, habitual knuckle crackers were more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength. Habitual knuckle cracking was associated with manual labour, biting of the nails, smoking, and drinking alcohol. It is concluded that habitual knuckle cracking results in functional hand impairment.
related content
- “The consequences of habitual knuckle cracking,” R L Swezey and S E Swezey, West J Med, 1975.
- “Habitual knuckle cracking and hand function,” P A Simkin, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 1990.
- “Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?,” D L Unger, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 1998.
- “Knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis,” Kevin Deweber, Mariusz Olszewski, and Rebecca Ortolano, J Am Board Fam Med, 2011.
- “Clinical Inquiry: Does knuckle popping lead to arthritis?,” Tye Powers, Gary Kelsberg, and Sarah Safranek, J Fam Pract, 2016.
- “"Knuckle Cracking": Can Blinded Observers Detect Changes with Physical Examination and Sonography?,” Robert D Boutin, Anuj P Netto, David Nakamura, Cyrus Bateni, Robert M Szabo, Michael Cronan, Brent Foster, William R Barfield, J Anthony Seibert, and Abhijit J Chaudhari, Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, 2017.
- “Effects of habitual knuckle cracking on metacarpal cartilage thickness and grip strength,” M T Yildizgören, T Ekiz, S Nizamogullari, A D Turhanoglu, H Guler, N Ustun, M Kara, and L Özçakar, Hand Surg Rehabil, 2017.
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