Not everyone can produce a knuckle crack. “Some people cannot crack their knuckles because the spacing between their knuckles is too large for this to happen,” said Barakat.
If a tendon or the tunnel a tendon runs through (called the tendon sheath) becomes swollen and inflamed, the tendon gets irritated and can "catch" in the tendon sheath. This can make it difficult to move the affected finger or thumb and can result in a clicking sensation.
Although cracking your knuckles regularly can be relatively harmless, it can also cause damage if it's done incorrectly or too frequently. If you pull or crack your knuckles incorrectly, you can actually cause a ligament injury or even dislocate your fingers.
Ligament Injury
Ligaments can be partially or completely torn. If the ligament heals improperly and is too loose, the joint can pop and snap as you bend your fingers. Common symptoms of a ligament injury include pain and swelling of the joint. If the ligament heals incorrectly, the joint may pop or snap during bending.
The nitrogen bubbles within the synovial fluid usually take 20 minutes to re-form in your joints before they can crack again.
Rather than forcing the finger to loosen with your other hand, you may be able to release the locked finger by massaging its base. Here's how to unlock trigger finger naturally and gently: Rub the base of the affected finger in a circular motion, gently applying pressure. Massage the area for a few minutes.
When you stretch or bend your finger to pop the knuckle, you're causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. As they do, the connective tissue capsule that surrounds the joint is stretched leads to increase in volume to decrease in pressure.
Not everyone can produce a knuckle crack. “Some people cannot crack their knuckles because the spacing between their knuckles is too large for this to happen,” said Barakat.
Cracking your knuckles in particular can be linked to nervousness and anxiety in some people. “Just like some people bite their nails, they also might crack their knuckles to temporarily ease nervousness or anxiety,” says Brian Katt, M.D., hand surgeon at Hackensack Meridian Health.
adjective. : characterized by a pronounced beat. finger-popping, toe-tapping music.
Anxiety can affect the entire body, and that includes your fingers. Finger symptoms may include pain, numbness/tingling, and spasms. Many finger-related symptoms point to adrenaline or hyperventilation as the likely cause. Anxiety can make someone more sensitive to “normal” finger sensations.
Stiff fingers often result from arthritis, but there may be other causes. They include tenosynovitis, which causes trigger finger, carpal tunnel syndrome, or an injury. Stretching, home remedies, and medical treatment may help.
Pinched Nerve
When the sensory nerves in your fingertips are compressed, it leads to fingertip pain, also known as pinched nerves. These nerve compressions can occur anywhere along the nerve course, including the spine's nerve root. One common cause of nerve root compression is a hernia of intervertebral discs.
Trigger finger is a condition affecting tendons that flex the fingers and thumb, typically resulting in a sensation of locking or catching when you bend and straighten your digits. Other symptoms may include pain and stiffness in the fingers and thumb. The condition is also known as stenosing tenosynovitis.
"Since it stretches the ligaments, cracking your back could also potentially also lead to joint instability over time if you do it frequently enough — which, in turn, could increase your risk of developing osteoarthritis," says Dr. Palmer.
Medical conditions associated with cracking and popping toes include prior toe injuries, progressive stress fractures, osteoarthritis, and long-term complications of rheumatoid arthritis and gout.
The bottom line
When done carefully, cracking your neck isn't bad for you. It has some benefits, including easing joint pressure, which may relieve pain or stiffness. But when done too often or forcefully, it can lead to more neck pain and injuries. Experts recommend gentle stretches when popping your neck.
In moderation, the answer is no. Studies have shown that occasionally cracking your back can help relieve pressure in your spine without adverse effects. However, when done habitually, popping can cause excessive wear on your joints and potentially lead to premature breakdown.
A trigger finger is a very common and treatable problem. It can occur in both fingers and the thumbs, which have tendons that help them to bend. The flexor tendons that bend the fingers have a lining on the outside. This lining is called tenosynovium.
If your finger or thumb is locked, you may be able to use gentle pressure to force it straight or bent. If your finger or thumb is locked, you're not able to force it straight or bent, and you're feeling catching or popping, the next level of treatment is a steroid injection to calm the irritation and swelling.
Trigger finger happens when the tendon that controls that finger can't glide smoothly in the sheath that surrounds it. This may occur if part of the tendon sheath becomes swollen or if a small lump forms on the tendon.
But when the cartilage starts to wear out, your bones don't fit together as easily. As cartilage breaks down, your body responds by growing new bone at the joint. The new bone growths are called nodes or spurs. When they appear at the finger's end joint, they are called Heberden's nodes.