Cracking your knuckles does not hurt your bones and can never cause Arthritis. The sound made from cracking knuckles is just gas bubbles popping.
It is a common misconception that cracking your knuckles will lead to Arthritis in your old age. In fact the converse is true and cracking your knuckles may actually have many therapeutic benefits.
By cracking your joints, you actually help to stimulate tendons, relax your muscles and loosen your joints. This can be done all over the body wherever there’s a joint.
Although it will not lead to Arthritis, too much knuckle cracking may lead to tissue damage in the joints and may also stretch the ligaments in your joints. This may lead to things such as reduced grip strength or soreness in the joints.
So why the popping sound?
The sound that you’re actually hearing when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of a gas in the synovial fluid escaping and turning into a bubble. This is called Cavitation. The bubble events bursts and produces the popping sound that we hear. After it’s popped, it takes roughly 25-30 minutes before you can crack your knuckles again as the gas becomes reabsorbed into the synovial fluid.
Source: OMG-Facts
