The implications of having gout are different from one gout sufferer to another. To some it can be a source of great stress while others might find it as a battle they have to win. But one fact remains. Gout is a liability. It can negatively affects the ability of person to perform be it a simple daily task or work related ones. Because gout is not a disorder that should be taken lightly, it’s fairly logical for gout sufferers to do everything to prevent it from getting worse.
Making specific lifestyle changes have been known to reduce the occurrence of gout flare ups. This includes reducing or eliminating purine rich food sources in one’s diet and being physically active. This only proves that gout is a manageable disorder. Gout sufferers just need to know what to do and be willing to do it.
However, gout sufferers like you must also be selective on the changes that you engage in. You must be able to filter which ones are true and healthy. Unfortunately, there are many existing advices in the Internet regarding practices that can allegedly worsen gout which are deceptive. For instance, it’s not uncommon to hear people saying that knuckle cracking must be avoided since it supposedly can damage your joints leading to many forms of arthritis including gout. Because of this misleading and baseless advice, many people attribute knuckle cracking as the cause of their gout; missing out the real cause and engaging in inappropriate treatments.
But nothing can be further from the truth. To put it simply, knuckle cracking does not cause gout. It works very differently from what other people might think. It may cause some form of joint damage but it is in no way associated with arthritis or gout. I came across with an article entitled “What makes your knuckles pop?” written by Katherine Neer. It explains the mechanism behind knuckle cracking and how it doesn’t cause gout. In order to understand it more deeply, I encourage you read the succeeding excerpts from that article.
As for the harms associated with this habit, according to Anatomy and Physiology Instructors’ Cooperative, only one in-depth study regarding the possible detriments of knuckle popping has been published. This study, done by Raymond Brodeur and published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, examined 300 knuckle crackers for evidence of joint damage. The results revealed no apparent connection between joint cracking and arthritis; however, habitual knuckle poppers did show signs of other types of damage, including soft tissue damage to the joint capsule and a decrease in grip strength. This damage is most likely a result of the rapid, repeated stretching of the ligaments surrounding the joint
On the positive side, there’s evidence of increased mobility in joints right after popping. When joints are manipulated, the Golgi tendon organs (a set of nerve endings involved in humans’ motion sense) are stimulated and the muscles surrounding the joint are relaxed.