A clinical inquiry by Tye Powers, MD; Gary Kelsberg, MD; Sarah Safranek, MLIS; edited by Jon O. Neher, MD Valley Family Medicine
After evaluating evidence from five different studies of groups of patients who habitually cracked their knuckles over periods of five to 35+ years compared with those who didn’t, Valley Family Medicine physicians reported there was no clinical or x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis as a result of the knuckle cracking. However, trying to pop the knuckles can sometimes produce injuries in soft tissue, which usually resolve within four weeks.
Published in October 2016 The Journal of Family Practice
