Cracking your knuckles is an oddly divisive habit; it might make you cringe or it might bring you satisfaction. But what happens to your body when you do it?

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment.View full profile Rachael has a degree in Zoology ...

The sound feels like something breaking, so it is easy to think something is being damaged. But studies have not found a clear link between knuckle cracking and osteoarthritis of the hand. The sound ...

Cracking your knuckles is something many people do out of stress, boredom, or just habit. Yet for years, it has been surrounded by fear and misinformation. Some believe it weakens the joints, while ...

Hearing “snap, crackle, pop!” with no visible sign of the Rice Krispie trio can only mean one thing: snapping joints—likely knuckle cracking, to be more specific. Whether or not the sensation happens ...

The 40 participants included 30 with a history of habitual knuckle cracking and 10 without. Some said they had never intentionally cracked their knuckles; others were habitual, cracking them up to 20 ...

Whether you love it or hate it, cracking knuckles is a common habit we've likely all done at some point. It's one of life's simple pleasures for some people, who crave the satisfying "pop" and ...

Cracking your knuckles might feel satisfying, but it often earns disapproving looks or even dire warnings. For decades, people have believed that this seemingly harmless habit could lead to arthritis ...