Popping Fingers/Cracking Joints

[Tatsumaru]

I've been doing that for a while - neck, fingers, spine, ankles etc. Is it generally bad ? Does it result in blockages. I ask because most people will say its not a healthy practice, but then it gives a nice relief. Should I stop ?

 

Thanks.

[konchog uma]

I've been doing that for a while - neck, fingers, spine, ankles etc. Is it generally bad ? Does it result in blockages. I ask because most people will say its not a healthy practice, but then it gives a nice relief. Should I stop ?

 

Thanks.

 

man when i stretch i pop, i hope i'm not gonna get arthritis too ahhaaha!

 

i think thats a myth

 

unless you are cracking your knuckles every 5 minutes for 10 years then i dont know what will happen

 

don't listen to "most people" btw i think most people watch too much tv to know whats good for them

[Eddy]

i was told that cracking and popping joints happens when the body is not aligned, ie. cracking back from bad sitting posture

[Tatsumaru]

I see. Thanks.

[zanshin]

Rheumalogists say don't do it, but I don't know if there's any empirical research either way.

[spiraltao]

-double post, don't see a delete button, heh-

 

 

Edited October 31, 2011 by jaysahnztao

[spiraltao]

I have had two highly skilled guitar teachers and both said that knuckle popping was a big NO NO. ...and the arthritis thing, which I already have, so I dont do it. ...with that said, when I am starting my silk reeling in the morning, very slow and stady to be SAFE, i can often hear a lower lumbar crack rather loudly or something in that region, after that, every single time, I can feel a surge of energy travel up my back and I can direct it from there.

 

 

 

That might be a bit off topic, but it is something that I have thought about lately.

 

 

[Aaron]

I didn't know the answer to this so I did some quick internet research and, although there was nothing about it's effect on chi or energy, they have also not found a link between it and arthritis. The link they did find was that people who habitually cracked their knuckles tended to have swollen hands more often and their hands weren't as strong as people who didn't. Now you know and knowing is half the battle.

 

Aaron

[steve]

I didn't know the answer to this so I did some quick internet research and, although there was nothing about it's effect on chi or energy, they have also not found a link between it and arthritis. The link they did find was that people who habitually cracked their knuckles tended to have swollen hands more often and their hands weren't as strong as people who didn't. Now you know and knowing is half the battle.

 

Aaron

I don't think that is an authoritative answer regarding the finger popping and cracking.

There is no conclusive data about knuckle popping in the hand surgical/medical literature.

By pushing the joint to an extreme, you are simply creating a vacuum effect and the crack is nitrogen gas.

I personally don't think it's at all harmful.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Wearing down your joints results in arthritis so I could see how doing this could increase some of the wear.

 

I've felt some arthritis from guitar playing and typing, and it seems to not show up when I take Lecithin capsules. Lecithin is a pretty fascinating mineral... basically the substance that surrounds the joints and makes up every cell in the body including brain cells.

 

 

Be sure to get organic since most is made with gm soy. Ordering sunflower lecithin is worth it.

[Tatsumaru]

I understand.

[Aaron]

I don't think that is an authoritative answer regarding the finger popping and cracking.

There is no conclusive data about knuckle popping in the hand surgical/medical literature.

By pushing the joint to an extreme, you are simply creating a vacuum effect and the crack is nitrogen gas.

I personally don't think it's at all harmful.

 

Where did I say that it was authoritative? I said I did some research on the internet and this is what I discovered. I also said that "they've found" not "found conclusively", so I'm hoping that people will be able to take from that, that there may be a correlation. The person who wrote the article was a M.D. so it's not like I was referencing an article by a religious spirit healer. Would you have felt better if I said that cracking the knuckles causes spiritual energy within the knuckles to leak or actually say something that's based on factual evidence?

 

Aaron

[Yuen Biao]

Having spent some time over the years receiving treatment with a chiropractor I really do not think cracking and popping is a bad thing at all, in fact just the opposite. I think it can relieve tension and actually open things up a little better, in my opinion.

 

Modern medical science such as that authorised by chiropractors obviously thinks this is also necessary and indeed some of the positions and postures you find yourself molded into by a Doctor would also be very similar to those you would find in Yoga or Qigong such as Daoyin Yansheng Gong. Incidentally my teacher always told me that if your joint cracked or popped then it was just the release of fluid around the specific area. No big deal unless done to excess...