snap, crackle, pop: synovial fluid and your joints

[shart_attack]

Which joints in your skeletal system "pop" the most frequently and the loudest?

I've been getting a lot of "snaps" in my right thumb lately that are starting to annoy the living crap outta me.

But occasionally, I'll get a "ka-pow!!!" in one of my legs that's so loud, it seems to get a look from someone at the other end of a crowded room — so I thought I'd start this thread.

What makes your knuckles pop - HowStuffWorks

If you've ever laced your fingers together, turned your palms away from you and bent your fingers back, you know what knuckle popping sounds like. Joints produce that CRACK when bubbles burst in the fluid surrounding the joint.

Joints are the meeting points of two separate bones, held together and in place by connective tissues and ligaments. All of the joints in our bodies are surrounded by synovial fluid, a thick, clear liquid. When you stretch or bend your finger to pop the knuckle, you're causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. As they do, the connective tissue capsule that surrounds the joint is stretched. By stretching this capsule, you increase its volume. And as we know from chemistry class, with an increase in volume comes a decrease in pressure. So as the pressure of the synovial fluid drops, gases dissolved in the fluid become less soluble, forming bubbles through a process called cavitation. When the joint is stretched far enough, the pressure in the capsule drops so low that these bubbles burst, producing the pop that we associate with knuckle cracking.

It takes about 25 to 30 minutes for the gas to redissolve into the joint fluid. During this period of time, your knuckles won't crack. Once the gas is redissolved, cavitation is once again possible, and you can start popping your knuckles again.

As for the harms associated with this habit, according to Anatomy and Physiology Instructors' Cooperative, only one in-depth study regarding the possible detriments of knuckle popping has been published. This study, done by Raymond Brodeur and published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, examined 300 knuckle crackers for evidence of joint damage. The results revealed no apparent connection between joint cracking and arthritis; however, habitual knuckle poppers did show signs of other types of damage, including soft tissue damage to the joint capsule and a decrease in grip strength. This damage is most likely a result of the rapid, repeated stretching of the ligaments surrounding the joint. A professional baseball pitcher experiences similar, although obviously heightened, effects in the various joints of his pitching arm. But assuming you haven't signed a multimillion dollar contract to constantly pop your knuckles, it hardly seems worth the possible risk to your joints.

On the positive side, there's evidence of increased mobility in joints right after popping. When joints are manipulated, the Golgi tendon organs (a set of nerve endings involved in humans' motion sense) are stimulated and the muscles surrounding the joint are relaxed. This is part of the reason why people can feel "loose" and invigorated after leaving the chiropractor's office, where cavitation is induced as part of the treatment. Backs, knees, elbows and all other movable joints are subject to the same kind manipulation as knuckles are.

The fact that arthritis runs in my bloodline gives this topic an especially deep significance to me.

 

[waltky]

Mebbe try some glucosamine...

... it's available OTC.

 

[shart_attack]

Mebbe try some glucosamine.

Thanks, but I ain't ever been really big on pills and whatnot.

I prefer physical techniques, like yoga.

 

[waltky]

Yoga won't replenish minerals that are lacking...

... or have diminished absorption due to age...

... that's what supplements are for.

 

[shart_attack]

Yoga won't replenish minerals that are lacking...

... or have diminished absorption due to age...

... that's what supplements are for.

Yeah, well, I eat right.

Occasionally I'll eat something deep fried at a gas station or nudie bar or whatnot. But by and large, I maintain a well-balanced diet.

You?

Don't make the mistake of thinking that snaps, cracks and pops in your joints are attributable solely to either physical strength or age.

They are not.

Everyone has joint pops — even toddlers.

Theirs are just not as loud as ours are.

 

[Ernie S.]

Into my early 50's, my big toes popped with every step. I never was able to sneak up behind people.

Remember when your momma told you that if you popped your joints you'd be sorry later in life?
She was right! By 2000, my feet hurt so bad, I walked like Arte Johnson's dirty old man character from Laugh-in.
I had surgery on both feet, one at a time, 8 weeks apart. I worked from home for nearly 4 months while recovering.

 

[shart_attack]

Into my early 50's, my big toes popped with every step. I never was able to sneak up behind people.

Remember when your momma told you that if you popped your joints you'd be sorry later in life?
She was right! By 2000, my feet hurt so bad, I walked like Arte Johnson's dirty old man character from Laugh-in.
I had surgery on both feet, one at a time, 8 weeks apart. I worked from home for nearly 4 months while recovering.

Ouch.

Yeah, I can't deny that this cracking thumb business I've been experiencing a whole bunch this past week is kinda startin' to piss me off.

Gotten to the point that it's happening like every 10 frick'n minutes.

I can imagine how much fun it must be to experience frequent toe pops.

 

[Ernie S.]

It wasn't painful until my mid 40's.
In 1999, I got deer on the first 2 days of hunting season. By the time I had dragged each one out of the woods, I was literally in tears, it hurt so bad.
I had a co-worker, a couple years older than me who had the same problem and after surgery, he was playing softball again. I got a card for his foot surgeon and went for a visit.
He brought out Bob's before and after xrays and showed the similarities. He explained that what he would be doing was cutting a wedge from the metatarsal bone and bending it up and fusing the bone back together so I would be using a different part of the joint after I healed up. He was VERY insistent that I use crutches for 4 weeks after each surgery and never let my toes hit the floor for 6 weeks.
Obviously, my then wife couldn't take off from work to wait on me during the day, so we got a mini fridge and a microwave and moved my computer desk so I could slide out of bed and into my swivel chair.
The very few times I did have to be physically "at work" for those 4 months, the company sent a van with a wheel chair ramp.

 

[sameech]

My ankles used to click when I was a kid. Some days it would annoy the hell out of me and it used to freak people out. when I walked down the hall it was click click click click. Didn't hurt and I couldn't feel it. The doctor said I would outgrow it when I stopped spending so much time running hog wild outdoors and I did.

 

[Moonglow]

After I flipped my truck in 1992 my left finger(the one next to the thumb) would pop easily with every movement, 200 years later it would burn the worst working outside on a cold day......I walked around with crushed neck disc for 19 years before they were replaced. But then again I refused to go to doctors until I was 48...

 

[Hossfly]

After I flipped my truck in 1992 my left finger(the one next to the thumb) would pop easily with every movement, 200 years later it would burn the worst working outside on a cold day......I walked around with crushed neck disc for 19 years before they were replaced. But then again I refused to go to doctors until I was 48...

Aren't you gonna tell us about your headbone popping and cracking?

 

[Moonglow]

After I flipped my truck in 1992 my left finger(the one next to the thumb) would pop easily with every movement, 200 years later it would burn the worst working outside on a cold day......I walked around with crushed neck disc for 19 years before they were replaced. But then again I refused to go to doctors until I was 48...

Aren't you gonna tell us about your headbone popping and cracking?

I had it removed for logistical reason 3 years ago...

 

[Ernie S.]

After I flipped my truck in 1992 my left finger(the one next to the thumb) would pop easily with every movement, 200 years later it would burn the worst working outside on a cold day......I walked around with crushed neck disc for 19 years before they were replaced. But then again I refused to go to doctors until I was 48...

Aren't you gonna tell us about your headbone popping and cracking?

I had it removed for logistical reason 3 years ago...

We knew that.