Yes to all three. Used to crack my knuckles and be told that I'll have arthritis later in life. Nowadays, I'm old enough that I can even crack my back, knees, and neck every once in a while. That's progress for you!
I'm pretty sure that's also a yes to all three. I actually have restless leg syndrome, so I often twist my ankles a lot at night, which does end up cracking very often. The human body is so perfectly crackable.
I cracked my knuckles while reading this. I also can't get to sleep without cracking my right angle first. That was a gift of a straight ankle lock I received in a brown belt match at a tournament put on by Gustavo Dantas. I have no ill will towards Gustavo... he's always seemed like a good guy who ran good tournaments, but I do think of that ankle lock frequently at bed time.
Not really. He was super nice and hugged my ankle after and I was like “nah bro, it wasn’t that painful, I just knew you got me.” It really didn’t feel too injured until a day or two later.
Big time cracker here. Knuckles, elbows, ankles, even the odd toe. But I wish I'd never started bending and cracking my fingers every which way. It definitely has affected the space within the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP) or middle finger. The tendons are much looser.
But I also cracked the
proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) sideways, and in my mind it made them larger, looser and oddly, harder.
Eeeek! As someone with misophonia, this is like nails on a chalkboard! What’s worse? Probably someone smacking gum. I take it back, it’s probably at the same level.
I almost suggested this as an essay for you! But then I didn’t want to assume you’d be into the idea. It’s when certain sounds — very specific sounds — trigger an extreme reaction by the listener. It feels like a visceral reaction; sometimes I describe it like someone suddenly sticking tiny needles into both ears simultaneously, so it causes an immediate intense emotional response. It’s genetic. It’s also more common in neurodivergent people and also people with Long Covid. I developed it as a teenager — that’s when it starts for most people — and then Long Covid makes it much worse. Many people don’t even know what it is or why they have such a reaction. I’m hoping this helps someone reading this right now!
I'm familiar with long covid. It's really interesting to me since it's kind of at the frontier of medicine right now, with so much we just don't understand. I am fascinated by the way our senses work, and covid is clearly more neurological in nature than perhaps we thought at first. I might have gone down a few rabbit holes from 2020 until at least 2022.
These doesn’t surprise me about you! I love the nature of your writing so that makes sense. I’m just used to constantly explaining Long Covid to people; also I think about how someone will read your comments, they might not know they’re sick, and then they might be like me and put two and two together through reading before they even get an official diagnosis, like I did. I was officially diagnosed last year, and I’m fortunate to be connected to a major university on the forefront of research.
That’s one way I learned that, in addition to the neurological component, they’ve also found LC is tied to your vagus nerve. There’s a mitochondrial connection that makes certain people like me more susceptible to developing it.
If you go to this post I wrote, scroll down to the paragraph about the interviews and articles I’ve written, and that explains what Long Covid is and its symptoms:
It's just the visceral thing with the joints. I can watch people slug it out. But I saw a video of a guy breaking his shin with a low kick and that was...oof.
I used to crack my knuckles and then stopped. I found that my hands were less sore when I stopped even though the cracking felt so good.
Quitter!
Yes to all three. Used to crack my knuckles and be told that I'll have arthritis later in life. Nowadays, I'm old enough that I can even crack my back, knees, and neck every once in a while. That's progress for you!
Nice! Ever manage to get your hips, wrists, or ankles to crack? Those can be weirdly satisfying. *this is not workout advice
I'm pretty sure that's also a yes to all three. I actually have restless leg syndrome, so I often twist my ankles a lot at night, which does end up cracking very often. The human body is so perfectly crackable.
Jaw? Elbow? Sternum?
I remember that playground game!
I cracked my knuckles while reading this. I also can't get to sleep without cracking my right angle first. That was a gift of a straight ankle lock I received in a brown belt match at a tournament put on by Gustavo Dantas. I have no ill will towards Gustavo... he's always seemed like a good guy who ran good tournaments, but I do think of that ankle lock frequently at bed time.
I mean, you might have a legit grievance with the brown belt!
(probably not, but more so than Gustavo)
Not really. He was super nice and hugged my ankle after and I was like “nah bro, it wasn’t that painful, I just knew you got me.” It really didn’t feel too injured until a day or two later.
My knee popped once at a Grapplers Quest, and it just kinda clicks in and out of place now. I've had about 20 years to get used to it.
Big time cracker here. Knuckles, elbows, ankles, even the odd toe. But I wish I'd never started bending and cracking my fingers every which way. It definitely has affected the space within the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP) or middle finger. The tendons are much looser.
But I also cracked the
proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) sideways, and in my mind it made them larger, looser and oddly, harder.
Grip strength is fine, as studies have concluded.
I've been cracking my whole life, but I've also been grappling for like 35 years now. It's hard to say what was caused by what for me.
Cracked em for decades. Can’t anymore—arthritis ☺️
So you're saying I should never stop.
No advice given. Just sharing my experience ☺️ I would still crack if I could—occasionally I’ll get one to pop in between golf swings
Ever get your lower back or spine to crack when you twist from side to side?
All the time. Also can put a fist in the small of my back and crack it anytime vertically. Ahhhh…
Satisfying! Glad you're still getting some good cracks in here and there.
😎
Eeeek! As someone with misophonia, this is like nails on a chalkboard! What’s worse? Probably someone smacking gum. I take it back, it’s probably at the same level.
I am suddenly very interested in misophonia. What's it like?
I almost suggested this as an essay for you! But then I didn’t want to assume you’d be into the idea. It’s when certain sounds — very specific sounds — trigger an extreme reaction by the listener. It feels like a visceral reaction; sometimes I describe it like someone suddenly sticking tiny needles into both ears simultaneously, so it causes an immediate intense emotional response. It’s genetic. It’s also more common in neurodivergent people and also people with Long Covid. I developed it as a teenager — that’s when it starts for most people — and then Long Covid makes it much worse. Many people don’t even know what it is or why they have such a reaction. I’m hoping this helps someone reading this right now!
That's great to read- thanks for sharing! Did your misophonia get worse after the pandemic?
Yes, because now I have Long Covid.
I'm familiar with long covid. It's really interesting to me since it's kind of at the frontier of medicine right now, with so much we just don't understand. I am fascinated by the way our senses work, and covid is clearly more neurological in nature than perhaps we thought at first. I might have gone down a few rabbit holes from 2020 until at least 2022.
These doesn’t surprise me about you! I love the nature of your writing so that makes sense. I’m just used to constantly explaining Long Covid to people; also I think about how someone will read your comments, they might not know they’re sick, and then they might be like me and put two and two together through reading before they even get an official diagnosis, like I did. I was officially diagnosed last year, and I’m fortunate to be connected to a major university on the forefront of research.
That’s one way I learned that, in addition to the neurological component, they’ve also found LC is tied to your vagus nerve. There’s a mitochondrial connection that makes certain people like me more susceptible to developing it.
If you go to this post I wrote, scroll down to the paragraph about the interviews and articles I’ve written, and that explains what Long Covid is and its symptoms:
https://open.substack.com/pub/onlymurdersintheinbox/p/only-murders-in-the-inbox-14?r=18fji&utm_medium=ios
I learned a lot. Thank you!
Our daughter is a "crack" addict. Drives us nuts, but she swears by it.
Just fingers, or has her condition spread to ankles and such?
Interesting although my squeamishness made it almost impossible to finish.
Ever watch any jiu jitsu or MMA? I bet that's tough.
It's just the visceral thing with the joints. I can watch people slug it out. But I saw a video of a guy breaking his shin with a low kick and that was...oof.
Yeah, that's extra nasty. The GIF of me doing that armbar - no big deal?
Somehow no. Just thought it was cool.