People who break their fingers for a long time and never break their fingers, whose joints are healthier? The answer is...

Reviewers: Tan Mingsheng (China-Japan Friendship Hospital), Wang Zhenhu (Chinese People's Liberation Army Army 82nd Army Hospital)

Friends who often watched martial arts movies when they were young must remember such a picture: people who fight hard have a skill, that is, they can break the knuckles of their fingers to make it click, thief cool!

Xiao Ming saw the secret in his heart, and practiced hard every day, which can be described as a moment of breaking and breaking, and has been breaking all the time. On the day of completion of the school, Xiaoming felt this momentum, and the children within a radius of five miles did not dare to provoke him.

Image source: soogif

Until-

A relative at a dinner party cordially invited: "Come, put on a show for your uncle and aunt." ”

So, Xiaoming used all the skills he had learned in his life to perform for everyone - the kind of breaking the knuckles of his fingers, clicking and clicking.

And then......

He was beaten.

Image source: Tencent Medical Code

Later, although Xiaoming changed this habit under the education of his parents, many people still have the habit of breaking their finger joints. So, why does breaking a finger click? Does it really get arthritis?

Let's look at the --

First, why does breaking the finger "click"?

The crisp clicking sound when breaking a finger will make many people feel sour.

This phenomenon is also common in our lives, such as the knee joint ringing when squatting, and this kind of bouncing sound can also occur when you suddenly turn your neck.

In fact, this is related to the precise structure of the joints, in order to ensure the needs of the human body's activities, there is a gap between the normal joints of the human body - the joint cavity, which is filled with liquid, which can play the role of "lubricant" and can protect the joints to complete the action smoothly, such as taking express delivery, picking vegetables, squatting These actions, all require the participation of lubricants.

Image source: Tencent Medical Code

When pulling or twisting the joint, the gap in the joint cavity becomes larger, which causes the bubbles in the joint fluid to burst or explode, which is the clicking sound we hear.

Just like when we inflate a balloon, as the gas is filled, the edges of the balloon are constantly stretched, and when the stretching force is greater than the balloon's ability to withstand, it will explode.

Image source: soogif

Although in most cases, this bouncing is caused by gas vibrations in the joint cavity, there is no pain, swelling or other joint symptoms, which is a normal physiological phenomenon.

But it's also important to note whether your joint bouncing is physiological or pathological.

2. Is it normal for all joint bounces?

If you suddenly break your finger, "click" a crisp sound, feel that this feel is quite relaxed, and you need to have a certain amount of time before doing the next bounce, which is generally a physiological pop, and you don't need to worry too much.

Pathological snapping of the fingers, which may be caused by osteoarthritis of the fingers or tenosynovitis of the fingers: bone hyperplasia occurs in the fingers, the friction resistance of the joints between the fingers increases, resulting in a bouncing sound, and compression of the flexor tendons of the fingers may lead to local inflammation, which can also cause a pop.

In addition to the fingers, pathological bouncing from other joints of the body may cause pathological bouncing: knee cartilage tears, shoulder joint trauma (such as muscle strain), elbow bone dislocation (or because the joint is too flexible), etc.

When you're uncomfortable and don't know how to tell the difference, the best thing to do is to see a doctor.

Image source: Tencent Medical Code

3. Does breaking a finger cause arthritis?

For the statement that frequent finger breaking will lead to arthritis, you can shout to your mother: Mom, you are wrong!

There are two main types of arthritis: one is related to the immune system (such as rheumatoid arthritis), and the other is because of the wear and tear of the cartilage of the joints (the wear and tear of cartilage is related to aging, joint damage, overweight, genetics, etc., which is called osteoarthritis).

Since the sound of breaking a finger is caused by the vibration of bubbles in the joint fluid, it does not cause damage to the joint, and it will naturally not cause arthritis.

And the bounce itself is a kind of friction, which can strengthen local blood circulation to a certain extent and help reduce inflammation.

On the question of whether breaking a finger can cause arthritis, Nader Unger, med., in the United States, did an informal but interesting experiment: he broke the joint of his left finger at least 2 times a day, and never broke the joint of his right hand, so he conducted a "control experiment" with his own hands for more than 60 years.

In the end, whether the two hands were naked eye observation or X-rays, there was not much difference, and there was no arthritis. He also received the 2009 Funny Nobel Prize in Medicine.

(Nader Unger, Source: Network)

In addition, the pot with thick finger joints, breaking the fingers is also not back, because bone hyperplasia occurs after the joint is damaged is the cause of the thick joint.

Under normal circumstances, occasionally breaking your fingers will not be a big problem, after all, the most important thing to be a person is to be happy.

However, let's not use our hands properly, if the fingers are injured, don't break them, too much force, but also cause acute damage to the structure around the joints.

Otherwise, what you will receive will not be an "wow..." praise, but a scream of "ah..."

Image source: Tencent Medical Code

bibliography:

[1] 2009 "Funny Nobel Prize" was freshly released[J]. Chinese Journal of Orthopedic Trauma, 2009, 11(10).

*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.

*The copyright of this article belongs to Tencent Medical Code, unauthorized media reprinting is prohibited, and illegal reprinting will be investigated for legal responsibility according to law. Individuals are welcome to forward to the circle of friends.

* Welcome to WeChat search and pay attention to the public account "Tencent Medical Code" to get more health science knowledge.