Using the imaging they were able to see exactly what was going on inside the joint at the exact moment of the "pop". The patients were measured for grip strength, range of motion and laxity, pre- and post-crack, to determine if any short-term damage was caused. In fact, in some patients, the crack increased the range of motion compared with knuckles that hadn't been cracked. Essentially when you crack your fingers, you pull apart two surfaces of the joint, which reduces the pressure. So the myth that cracking your knuckles is bad turns out to just be a little white lie told by parents!

Source: Standard Digital January 25, 2017 04:33 UTC