Knuckle Cracking Decreases Your Grip Strength
Cracking joints is the action of manipulating a joint (or multiple joints) to the point of producing a cracking or popping sound. The most common form of deliberate joint manipulation is knuckle cracking. As it is frequently thought of as a precursor to arthritis and as many people feel it emits an unpleasant sound, it is often discouraged. Although no research studies have shown evidence of a correlation between knuckle cracking and arthritis, they have indicated that habitual knuckle-crackers are more likely to have hand swelling and significant decreased grip strength.
The physical mechanisms that produce the popping sound are as yet unproven, but the most likely hypothesis suggests that when a manipulation is performed, gas bubbles in the synovial fluid of the manipulated joint rapidly collapse upon themselves resulting in the popping sound.
The muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments of the hand are a very complex network, functionally intertwined with the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the forearm. Just as with any other part of the body, if the hands are not used and exercised in a balanced manner, resulting imbalances will lead to tension build-up in the corresponding muscles, tendons and ligaments. Eventually the muscle imbalance places strain on joints, resulting in injury and debilitating pain.
See my blog post ‘Muscle Symmetry Development’ for more information about this.
Why You Feel the Need to Crack
Although it may not be clear, why rapidly manipulating a joint past its self-able range of motion causes a cracking sound, it is certain that it has negative repercussions. Identical to cracking of the spine or any joint for that matter, the feeling of needing to crack the knuckles is caused by a need to release tension in the corresponding muscles, ligaments and tendons. The effect of knuckle cracking is a feeling of tension relief in the hands. But in actual fact, manipulating a joint to the point of cracking only increases the build-up of tension.
What Cracking is Actually Doing to Your Muscles, Tendons and Ligaments
Imagine you have a few rubber bands linked together, whereby some of the bands are thicker and stronger, and some bands are thinner and weaker. When you pull on the two end bands in opposite directions, which bands do you think will stretch first? The thinner weaker bands of course. Similarly, the tense muscles, tendons and ligaments in your hand are like the thick strong bands, whereas the non-tense ones are like the thinner weaker bands.
Essentially, when you manipulate your fingers to release the tension, just like if you were to rapidly pull the linked rubber bands, you are hyper-extending the weaker muscles while doing nothing to extend (or rather stretch) the tenser muscles. Over time and habitual cracking, your already weak muscles ligaments and tendons will become weaker and your tense muscles, ligaments and tendons will become tenser, further increasing the imbalance rather than resolving it.
The Weakest Link
You may have heard the saying “you’re only as strong as your weakest link.” Well, as you can imagine, this term is literal in the sense of why your grip strength is decreased by cracking your knuckles. Not only does the imbalance result in lesser grip strength, but it also results in functional hand impairment –as fine motor neural activity becomes diminished through the tension held in various muscles of the hand, wrist and forearm. Grip strength and functional hand maneuvering and control are crucial to the degree at which one can perform many sports and movements. It is so often overlooked, but can so often be the determining factor between failing to reach and reaching our goal. So if you’re a habitual knuckle cracker or know someone who is, replace the cracking habits with these simple stretching and massaging practices.
Releasing Tension
Stretch through the muscle, ligament, and tendon area of the fingers and hands rather than manipulating through the joint or knuckle area.
Hold each stretch for a minimum of 15 seconds.
Massage where you feel tension in the muscles, ligaments and tendons of the hands regularly.
Develop strength in your weakened (underdeveloped) hand, wrist and forearm muscles.
See my blog post ‘Developing Your Grip Strength’ for more information about balanced hand, wrist and forearm development.
Happy stretching, massaging and “happy hands” 
had to throw that in there… I just couldn’t help myself
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