Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Using Your Knuckles For Information


I found this awesome thing that shows you how you can use your knuckles for information also. Your knuckles can help you figure out what months have 31 days in them and what months have 30 days in them. Genius!

Injuries From Cracking Your Knuckles

There are at least two published reports of injuries suffered while people were trying to crack their knuckles. Perhaps these people were overly vigorous in their efforts. Fortunatly, it is extremely rare that you would hurt yourself while cracking your knuckles. So, crack away!

Why You Can't Crack Knuckles Constantly


You can't crack the same knuckle twice in a row because you have to wait for gas to once again build up the synovial fluid. Above is a picture of what synovial fluid looks like.

Does Knuckle-Cracking Hurt Your Job Chances?

I found this article that talks about how you should work on your bad habits, knuckle cracking, and make sure that you don't it during the interview. The article goes on to talk about how you should also work in conroling your knuckle-cracking so that you don't do it in the office and annoy everyone else around you. (http://www.45things.com/2009/02/is-your-knuckle-cracking-killing-your.php)

Knuckle Cracking Study Results:

The relation between habitual knuckle cracking and hand function was assessed among 300 patients aged 45 years and older, who had no evidence of nerve and muscle disease, inflammatory disorders, or malignant disease. Among the study group, there were 74 habitual knuckle crackers and 226 non-knuckle crackers. Although the prevalence of arthritis or inflammation of the joint was similar in both groups, hand swelling and lower grip strength were more prevalent in habitual knuckle crackers. Factors that were associated with habitual knuckle cracking included manual labor or work involving use of hands, nail-biting, smoking, and drinking alcohol. The results suggest that habitual knuckle cracking results in impaired hand function. (consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.).

Monday, December 14, 2009

Rest Assured You Piano Playing Knuckle Crackers

It's been said that knuckle cracking does not in fact affect piano playing at all. As long as a player does not crack his or her knuckles while in the middle of playing a song, it will not affect the way a piano player plays the piano at all. So crack on piano players!
(http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1289018/Will%20Knuckle%20Cracking%20Affect%20.html)

Why Is It So Hard To Stop Cracking Your Knuckles?

It is so hard to stop cracking your knuckles because it is not necessarily an addiction, but more of a habit. Many people subconciously crack their knuckles, so they don't even realize that they're doing it. It's extremely hard to get out of the habit of cracking your knuckles when you don't even realize when you're doing it. Another reason in which it becomes hard to crack is because your knuckles begin to feel as though they need to be cracked in order to feel good. (http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=43826)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Why Knuckle Cracking Doesn't Cause Harm:

According to Sanjiv Naidu, Penn State professor of orthopedicts:
"Plain old knuckle cracking should not cause any damage. It does not strain the ligaments or the tissues, or overextend them enough to cause arthritis," Naidu said. "It also should not cause joint weakness, on a long term basis. Anatomically, physiologically and mechanically, there's no reason it should cause harm."
Naidu elaborates, "You literally have to disrupt the joint capsule through excessive force--like a ligament injury in a knee, or 'skier's thumb,' for example-to cause chronic, long-term damage." The forces generated by knuckle-cracking are relatively small in comparison, Naidu said.
(http://www.physorg.com/news64162917.html)

Picture Of A Hand And Where The Knuckle Is:


Thursday, December 10, 2009

Advice For How To Stop Cracking Your Knuckles

I found a blog about how to stop knuckle cracking. Here was some of their advice:
1) Try to wear something (like a rubber band or a bracelet) that you really like.
2) Tie a ribbon around your finger.
3) Get support. Tell your family and friends about your habit and let them know that you need help stopping.
4) Do something fun to take your mind off of cracking your knuckles.
I put this post up in case anyone is attempting to stop cracking their knuckles. While I fully support you, I personally do not plan on stopping :)

Picture Of The Knuckle Cracker Toy


The picture above is of the knuckle cracking toy that I talked about in my post about a few days ago.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Man Wins Ig Nobel Prize For Knuckle Cracking

Dr. Donald L. Unger, of Thousand Oaks, Calafornia received the Medical Price for his lifelong research project about cracking his knuckles. Unger spent 60 years of hi life cracking one of his hands knuckles, while not cracking the other hands. In the end, Unger found that both hands were the same when it came to them not having arthritis. Thus, Unger proved that cracking your knuckles makes no difference and does not lead to arthritis. To read the whole article go to: http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/091002-ig-nobel-2009-awards.html

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

How To Cracking Your Knuckles

I found a 9 step program of how to cracking your knuckles online at (http://www.wikihow.com/Crack-Your-Knuckles).

1. Understand Why Your Knuckles Crack. The noise is believed to be gas bubbles popping inside the fluid in your joints as you move them just so. Given varying joint sizes in different people some people make more noises than others. Some will not be able to crack their knuckles at all.

2. Clench Your Hands So They Interlock (How someone would hold a lucky dice when playing a dice game).

3. Suddenly Straighten Your Finders And Push Slightly Into Each Knuckle. That push should generate an immediate crack.

4. Wait. Once you have cracked your knuckles, it will take some time for the gas bubbles to redissolve into the synovial fluid. This prevents you from cracking them again right away.

5. An easier way is to first Put One Of Your Hands In A Fist.

6. Then Clench Your Other Hand Around.

7. Next Push Down Right Below The Knuckles.

8. Finally You Should Hear A Pop.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Knuckle Cracking Toy

I found this really cool toy that makes the noise of cracking your knuckle. It's called the Yubi-Poki virtual knuckle cracker. It's advertised as a great thing to use after you've used up all of your fingures cracks so that you can keep on enjoying knuckle cracking. (http://inventorspot.com/articles/yubipoki_virtual_dual_purpose_knuckle_cracker_toy_28215).

Sunday, December 6, 2009

How I Crack My Knuckles

How do you guys crack your knuckles?
I personally begin with cracking them to the sides. After I've cracked all of them that way I bend my fingures back and get a few more cracks and the icing on the cake is when I bend them down to get any last cracks out. I've found that this is the most successful way to make my figures feel the most relaxed and satisfied with my cracking.

Q&A about Knuckle Cracking from Johns Hopkins University

Hi Guys,
Here's some scientific questions and answers about knuckle cracking:
(http://www.hopkins-arthritis.org/arthritis-news/2007/knuckle-cracking-and-arthritis.html)

Knuckle Cracking Q & A
Dimitrios Pappas, M.D.
Rheumatology Fellow, Johns Hopkins University



Question: Why do people crack knuckles?
Answer: Cracked knuckles feel looser and enjoy more mobility for a while after cracking. It is also possible that as kids people realize that cracking knuckles produces a funny noise and may repeat cracking just to produce the sound. This may make some people habitual “knuckle crackers”.

Question: What causes the sound?
Answer: Joints (knuckles) are covered by a capsule (the joint capsule or synovial capsule). Within the space of this capsule the synovial fluid is contained which acts as a lubricant and also contains nutrients for the adjacent bone surfaces. A variety of gases are continuously dissolved in this fluid. When one cracks a knuckle, the stretching of the capsule lowers the pressure inside the joint and creates a vacuum which is filled by the gas previously dissolved in the synovial fluid. This creates a “bubble” which then bursts producing the characteristic “popping” or “cracking” sound. It takes a while until these gases are re-dissolved in the synovial fluid which explains why knuckles cannot be “re-cracked” immediately.

Question: Are there any side effects to cracking knuckles?
There is no evidence that cracking knuckles causes any damage such as arthritis in the joints. However, a couple of reports in the medical literature are available associating knuckle cracking with injury of the ligaments surrounding the joint or dislocation of the tendons ( attachments of muscles to bones) which improved with conservative treatment. A study found that after many years of cracking habitual knuckle crackers may have reduced grip strength compared with people not cracking their knuckles.

Question: Is there a difference between what happens in children / adults?
Answer: No. However habitual cracking has been associated in one 14 yo female with skin changes over the knuckles (called “knuckle pads”).

Question: What causes arthritis?
Answer: There are different kinds of arthritis with the major categories being two: The inflammatory arthritides such as the rheumatoid arthritis and the degenerative arthritis best known as osteoarthritis or “wear and tear arthritis”. The causes for either are not well known and research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms leading to these diseases. In general a genetic predisposition is highly likely for both. For the inflammatory arthritis an unknown exposure to environmental stimuli is considered possible. For the “wear and tear arthritis” instead, aging and excessive mechanical stress may play a role in accelerating the damage in the joints as it happens in the knees of genetically predisposed older obese people.

Question: Can cracking knuckles / joints lead to arthritis?
Answer: There is no evidence of such an association. In limited studies performed there was no change in occurrence of arthritis between “habitual knuckle crackers” and “non crackers”

Question: If you have arthritis, can cracking knuckles / joints make it worse?
Answer: No. However theoretically “knuckle – cracking” in patients with weak or damaged joints due to arthritis could potentially lead more easily to ligament injury or acute trauma to the joints.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What Cracking Your Knuckles Really Is

According to Yahoo answers, when you crack your knuckles you are essentially pushing the joint into or out of its normal position. A think, clear lubricant called synovial fluid is found in the joints between your bones. When you crack your fingers, you cause the bones to pull apart, and the pressure on the synovial fluid is reduced. Bubbles form and quickly expand and then burst http://ask.yahoo.com/20020828.html).