Does Cracking Your Knuckles Cause Arthritis?

The simple answer is NO. This is one of the most popular myths that has been floating around and still continues to do so. However as far as I have read about it, it's not true.

Here's what an article I found online had to say:

How the Joint Works

A joint is formed where the ends of two bones come together. The ends of the two bones are covered by articular cartilage. The cartilage is surrounded by what is called the joint capsule. Inside the joint capsule, there is synovial fluid which serves as a lubricant for the joint and also as a source of nutrients for the cells that maintain the joint cartilage.

Synovial fluid contains dissolved gases -- oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. When you crack your knuckles or when pressure is applied to a joint, the pressure inside the joint capsule expands but the expansion is limited by how much synovial fluid is contained in the joint. Synovial fluid cannot expand unless pressure inside the joint capsule drops and the dissolved gases can escape out of the fluid. The cracking sound comes from the gases rapidly being released from the fluid.

Study Conclusions

There have been a few studies over the years that considered whether or not cracking knuckles caused arthritis. One study found that there was no increase of hand arthritis among knuckle crackers, however, knuckle cracking was related to hand swelling and lower grip strength.

Another study indicated that while knuckle cracking was not associated with arthritis, it was associated with damage to ligaments that surround the joint and dislocation of tendons. While cracking your knuckles is not linked to causing arthritis, there may be a connection to soft tissue injuries.

_Sources:

_{Effect of habitual knuckle cracking on hand function. Annual of the Rheumatic Diseases. 1990 May;49(5):308-309.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1004074}

_{What makes the sound when we crack our knuckles? Scientific American. October 26, 2001.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-makes-the-sound-when}

Sleep Deprivation May Lead to Alzheimer's?

Neurologic diseases are one of the worst diseases and Alzheimer's disease is one of them. It's a progressive disease where there is loss of brain cells (neurons) which results in progressive memory loss. So far, there is nothing to reverse the process and our best plan of action is to try and limit the progression and prevent the disease.

This is just a start to try and understand the disease a bit better and hopefully someday to try and find a cure or a way to prevent the disease.

"The research was conducted in mice and is preliminary, and it may not apply to humans. Still, the possible link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer's raises the prospect of possible treatments that target related pathways in the brain, explained study author Dr. David M. Holtzman, chairman of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

"This might be a way to delay or prevent the disease by doing something in middle life" rather than waiting until something goes wrong, Holtzman said.

The Alzheimer's Association estimates that as many as 5.3 million people in the United States have the disease, which is the country's seventh-leading cause of death. Alzheimer's disease is incurable, and although some treatments are available, they only relieve symptoms. In some cases, those symptoms include sleep problems.

Holtzman and his colleagues were not initially looking at sleep, but instead wanted to better understand how a protein clogs the brains of people with Alzheimer's. It's not clear how these clogs, known as plaques, and structures called "tangles" cause symptoms. But experts think it may have something to do with their disruption of how neurons communicate with each other.

The researchers developed a way to monitor the levels of the protein by the hour in both humans -- through a continual measurement of their spinal fluid via a catheter -- and mice.

The researchers discovered that the level of the protein went up during waking hours and fell during sleep. Holtzman said that its levels may be related to brain activity, which is higher during waking hours.

In mice, the researchers found that sleep deprivation boosted the levels of the protein, which builds up in plaques.

If a person is awake for a long time, levels of the protein might build up, Holtzman said. This could play a role in middle age because Alzheimer's disease begins to clog the brain several years before symptoms become apparent."

For the entire article, click here. It reminds me of something I was discussing with my mother recently. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that for every disease Allah created there is a cure. All we need is the ability to discover that cure.

"There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment."(Al-Bukhari)

This made me laugh...

Sometimes I come across articles, posts, comments that make me laugh. They may not be intentionally funny but I still find them humorous. Does this mean I have a strange sense of humor? Even so, I'd like to share a few of the things I came across today and it may bring a smile to your face as well.

We've all had times when we were frustrated by the internet connection some way or the other. Maybe some of us more than others. I found this particular comment in a blog post on trying to fix the issue rather hilarious:

"I've tried the usual, in the usual order. Shouted at the computer, switched it off and restarted it, shouted at it again, hit it. Nothing works."

I also came across the following comment to a blog post that made me laugh. It speaks for itself:

"a radiologist told me I had a nice uterus, which funnily enough was removed more than 20yrs ago"

Maybe it's just me. I need some sleep.