PubHawk
Arthritis Rheum May 1998 PMID 9588755

Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?

D L Unger

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Mentions

25
Peak: 5 in Oct 2025
across 7 sources since Apr 2014

Extended reach

1,302,103
potential audience

Total likes

23,996

Video views

1,266,791

Mentions per month

Apr 2014 – Oct 2025

Where it's discussed

  • X / Twitter15 posts
  • Bluesky2 posts
  • YouTube2 videos
  • Facebook2 posts
  • News2 articles
  • TikTok1 posts
  • Reddit1 posts

AI synopsis

What people are saying

Discussions overall support the conclusion that knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis, with examples like Unger's 50-year personal experiment and references to scientific articles. The tone varies from factual and scientific to conversational questions, demonstrating active engagement and interest in understanding the truth behind a widespread belief.

AgreementStrong agreement

Most discussions affirm that knuckle cracking does not lead to arthritis, citing different studies and personal experiments like Unger's 50-year trial.

InterestHigh interest

The group shows high interest by referencing detailed studies, medical experiments, and engaging with facts that challenge common beliefs.

EngagementModerate engagement

While many participants analyze the evidence, some share personal anecdotes or questions, indicating moderate, but not deeply analytical, engagement.

ImpactModerate impact

The discussions could influence public perception by dispelling myths, although their immediate practical impact is moderate as it mainly clarifies a common misconception.

Abstract in brief

  • Knuckle cracking is a common habit where people pull or bend their knuckles to make a popping sound.
  • Current research suggests that cracking your knuckles does not cause arthritis, though it may temporarily cause discomfort or swelling.
  • Most studies indicate that there is no direct link between knuckle cracking and the development of finger arthritis.]
Read the full abstract

Top posts

Most liked on X and Bluesky
昭和医科大学病院リウマチ膠原病内科 Div Rheumatol, Showa Med U
@rheum_showa · X

指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと関節炎発症に相関はないと結論 https://t.co/qsTyVe0Foi

Sep 30, 2025 · 40 likes · 6 shares · 3,162 followers View post →
Aaron Ruby 
@aruby_ · X

@Neurofourier Winner of the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine! "For 50 years, the author cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day, leaving those on the right as a control... no arthritis in either hand... a two-arm trial" https://t.co/juk6oWDe3C https://t.co/Av9O5CmbHx

May 4, 2022 · 7 likes · 1 share · 167 followers View post →
Susana Fortich, MD
@SusanaFortichS · X

Who else can't control the urge to crack their knuckles? Unger DL. Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers? Arthritis Rheum. 1998 May;41(5):949-50. DOI: 10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:5<949::AID-ART36>https://t.co/IEX7OimFW0;2-3. PMID: 9588755. https://t.co/8l1ZITCIyC

Feb 22, 2021 · 5 likes · 12,051 followers View post →
RheumaBullets
@rheumabullets · X

El Dr. Donald Unger decidio hacer el experimento y por 50 años se trono los dedos de la mano izquiera alrededor de 36,500 veces. Jamas trono su mano derecha. Al final o desarrollo artritis en ninguna de las dos manos. https://t.co/IUE1EoyiZR https://t.co/IP11l9tEwW

Nov 18, 2024 · 2 likes · 1 share · 8 followers View post →
Mari \⁷ - ❤️
@Yoongimeowmeow7 · X

@flyseokjin Here's a few different ones and all should have references to other sources if needed. I just remember this being repeated by my aunt in Brazil and I later leaned it wasn't true https://t.co/IryuLucKg6 https://t.co/jaX2wk7W7A https://t.co/0SN6UhM2PO

Jan 9, 2024 · 1 like · 3,259 followers View post →
_
@nalCee · X

혹시 찾아볼 분들의 수고를 덜기 위해 Unger D. L. (1998). Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?. Arthritis and rheumatism, 41(5), 949–950. https://t.co/zzASfqS81m

May 26, 2025 · 1 like · 195 followers View post →

All mentions

かたぐら子
@cat1021gla · X

RT @rheum_showa: 指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと…

Oct 5, 2025 · 6 shares · 2,064 followers View post →
Piano
@syosyosyoko · X

RT @rheum_showa: 指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと…

Oct 2, 2025 · 6 shares · 81 followers View post →
湘南指圧館(あマ指国家資格施術所)
@shiatsukan · X

RT @rheum_showa: 指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと…

Oct 1, 2025 · 6 shares · 807 followers View post →
きょん|あん摩マッサージ指圧をする人
@kyo_n_6119 · X

RT @rheum_showa: 指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと…

Oct 1, 2025 · 6 shares · 924 followers View post →
近藤　雅人
@mkondo_showa · X

RT @rheum_showa: 指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと…

Sep 30, 2025 · 6 shares · 1,642 followers View post →
昭和医科大学病院リウマチ膠原病内科 Div Rheumatol, Showa Med U
@rheum_showa · X

指の関節を鳴らすことは関節炎を引き起こすのか？（A&R 1998） ✅2009年イグノーベル医学賞 ✅著者は左手だけ50年間毎日指関節を鳴らし、右手を対照 ✅左手を3万6500回以上鳴らしたが、関節炎の左右差はなかった ✅指関節を鳴らすことと関節炎発症に相関はないと結論 https://t.co/qsTyVe0Foi

Sep 30, 2025 · 40 likes · 6 shares · 3,162 followers View post →
_
@nalCee · X

혹시 찾아볼 분들의 수고를 덜기 위해 Unger D. L. (1998). Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?. Arthritis and rheumatism, 41(5), 949–950. https://t.co/zzASfqS81m

May 26, 2025 · 1 like · 195 followers View post →
RheumaBullets
@rheumabullets · X

El Dr. Donald Unger decidio hacer el experimento y por 50 años se trono los dedos de la mano izquiera alrededor de 36,500 veces. Jamas trono su mano derecha. Al final o desarrollo artritis en ninguna de las dos manos. https://t.co/IUE1EoyiZR https://t.co/IP11l9tEwW

Nov 18, 2024 · 2 likes · 1 share · 8 followers View post →
dr piyush jaiswal
@doctor_sahab_p · X

Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers?

Feb 8, 2024 · 1 followers View post →
Mari \⁷ - ❤️
@Yoongimeowmeow7 · X

@flyseokjin Here's a few different ones and all should have references to other sources if needed. I just remember this being repeated by my aunt in Brazil and I later leaned it wasn't true https://t.co/IryuLucKg6 https://t.co/jaX2wk7W7A https://t.co/0SN6UhM2PO

Jan 9, 2024 · 1 like · 3,259 followers View post →
Encyclopedia MDPI
@Encyclopedia_X · X

Does Knuckle Cracking Lead to Arthritis of the Fingers? When you are bored, do you unknowingly crack your knuckles? The answer is yes, and this causes the joints of the fingers to make sounds.

Mar 20, 2023 · 2,742 followers View post →
Aaron Ruby 
@aruby_ · X

@Neurofourier Winner of the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine! "For 50 years, the author cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day, leaving those on the right as a control... no arthritis in either hand... a two-arm trial" https://t.co/juk6oWDe3C https://t.co/Av9O5CmbHx

May 4, 2022 · 7 likes · 1 share · 167 followers View post →
Susana Fortich, MD
@SusanaFortichS · X

Who else can't control the urge to crack their knuckles? Unger DL. Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers? Arthritis Rheum. 1998 May;41(5):949-50. DOI: 10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:5<949::AID-ART36>https://t.co/IEX7OimFW0;2-3. PMID: 9588755. https://t.co/8l1ZITCIyC

Feb 22, 2021 · 5 likes · 12,051 followers View post →
FloofyBlueThing
@FloofyBlueThing · X

@jeqcx here's an article link https://t.co/vjKedI5SEx here's the link to the study https://t.co/lNSBdnNCN0

Nov 20, 2020 · 2,399 followers View post →
عدنان العبار / Adnan Alabbar
@Alabbar94 · X

“Donald Ungar cracked the knuckles of his left hand everyday for 50 years, but never his right. There was no difference between his 2 hands. He wrote an article about it titled ‘Does Knuckle Cracking Lead to Arthritis of the Fingers?’ which was published in a medical journal.”

Apr 5, 2019 · 5,675 followers View post →
Rosa M. Chefaoui
@rosachefaoui.bsky.social · Bluesky

Does Knuckle Cracking Lead to Arthritis of the Fingers? The answer is NO correryfitness.com/fitness/cuales…

Apr 16, 2015 View post →
Atila Iamarino
@atila.bsky.social · Bluesky

Com N de 1 pessoa, fica o médico que estralou os dedos de uma mão só por 60 anos. E ficou tudo bem. IgNobel de 2009 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:5%3C949::AID-ART36%3E3.0.CO;2-3/abstract

Apr 9, 2014 View post →
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Dec 16, 2025 View →
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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1529-0131%28199805%2941%3A5%3C949%3A%3AAID-ART36%3E3.0.CO%3B2-3 (Дата обращения: 15.10.2025).

Oct 16, 2025 View →
¿Es malo tronarse los dedos? Lo que dice la ciencia en 1998 | TikTok
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Referenced Study: ➡️ [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/1529-0131%28199805%2941%3A5%3C949%3A%3AAID-ART36%3E3.0.CO%3B2-3] ...

Jun 14, 2022 View →
I have to crack my joints all the time for decades. I think it's a tendon ...
Reddit

... 10.1002/1529-0131%28199805%2941%3A5%3C949%3A%3AAID-ART36%3E3.0.CO%3B2-3 ... Look at yin yoga - Paul Grilley - holding poses for more than 3 ...

Jun 10, 2022 View →
הקישור לאתר ורכישת הקורס שישנה לך את האימונים. https://levysfit.com ...
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com/doi/epdf/10.1002/1529-0131%28199805%2941 %3A5%3C949%3A%3AAID-ART36%3E3.0.CO%3B2-3 אנחנו צריכים רק להבין שעל פי מחקר של מישהו אחד אנחנו ...

Feb 28, 2020 View →
Ig Nobel List | PDF | Science & Mathematics
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doi:10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:53.0.CO;2-3 (https ... 1%28199805%2941%3A5%3C949%3A%3AAID-ART36%3E3.0.CO%3B2-3). PMID ...

Sep 13, 2019 View →