Why Does It Feel Good To Crack Joints?

Everyone who is fond of cracking their knuckles can relate to the fact that they actually do not know what feels so good about cracking them. For some people, it is a way of coping up with nervousness, stress or anxiety. While for some people they enjoy the sound of joints cracking. It is somewhat similar to stretching or doing an exercise, and most people find it relaxing for them just to crack their knuckles whenever they want. As some people tend to believe that this knuckle cracking is actually releasing the tension between their joints – but in reality it is not the case. Many people think of knuckle cracking as a process of joints and bones realignment – which is sort of true. 

Knuckle cracking is the audible sound that happens when the joints in our fingers stretch. These joints are known as “synovial joints” and the fluid surrounding these synovial joints is called “synovial fluid”. Synovial fluid gathers nitrogen gas bubbles and entraps other gases with the passing time. The accumulation of nitrogen and other gases in the joint fluid causes the fingers to get stiff. So, whenever you stretch your fingers or crack your knuckles, the nitrogen gas releases – producing that familiar “popping” sound. The nitrogen gas takes usually 20 minutes to accumulate in the joint fluid after you crack or stretch your knuckles. This duration is known as the refractory period.

Apart from some degree of persuading your habit of cracking your fingers, the cracking can actually release tons of pounds of pressure from the joints. Whenever you are working for hours and hours at your office or even in home, you take some time and crack your knuckles to get a feeling of relaxation and happiness. It is also interesting to notice that the people that use more of their hands and fingers throughout the day without stretching them during that time will feel more urge to crack their knuckles. Some of these people include surgeons, painters, writers and coders. But the compulsion of cracking your knuckles goes beyond this as you start cracking your knuckles it becomes a never-stopping habit. Most of people enjoy this cracking feeling so much that they hook to this habit.

The specialists also affirm that it becomes so addictive for the people to crack your knuckles that you might never want to quit it. The cracking of knuckles is somewhat a feeling of relief, including the sound of just cracking of joints. Some people enjoy this habit so much that they do not even care about how much their friends, family or co-workers complain about it. There is no stopping on a dime to quit this habit as it is extremely soothing and helps you release the tension between the joints. The feeling of tension releasing and that characteristic “popping” sound is the most common reason why it feels so satisfying to crack your knuckles – without concerning about what others think of you.