I understand it doesn't look impressive...

[Sapphire Silk]

You know, I read the part where you heard a crack, and all I thought of was my inherited/learned adoration of joint-popping(I have psoriasis, so people harping on me for joint popping giving me arthritis tends to get over-ridden by me with "I'll never know if I get it from my psoriasis or joint popping, so I may as well enjoy the latter")... And after a while being able to tilt my head JUST so and feel the joints pop in the most satisfying manner(And that's without using my hands to aid in it).

I can just imagine how great that felt after the initial shock of "Oh my, my finger just went crack!".

Joint popping does NOT cause arthritis. There is no evidence to support that it does. It's an urban legend.

The crack is either cause by the ligament snapping or air/fluid in the joint when the joint is realigned (we're not completely sure what the real cause is). Any joint can "pop", but the back and hand joints are the most commonly popped.

[Andara Bledin]

The crack is either cause by the ligament snapping or air/fluid in the joint when the joint is realigned (we're not completely sure what the real cause is). Any joint can "pop", but the back and hand joints are the most commonly popped.

Yup. The worst that'll happen from cracking knuckles is reduced grip strength.

^-.-^

[Primer]

Yup. The worst that'll happen from cracking knuckles is reduced grip strength, and everybody around you cringing.

^-.-^

fixed that for ya

[XCashier]

Yep, Primer, I've found that's a good way to get my boss off my back; crack my knuckles around her!

Back OT, Lewis, I'm glad your hand is better, that could've seriously messed up your hand. (I've been bitten by a cat, no fun. Got all infected, had to get tetanus shot and everything. I can imagine how much worse a dog bite would be.) Kind of funny how you moved that hand just right to get it back in place.

[charred]

A Møøse once bit my sister ...

[Nyoibo]

Yup. The worst that'll happen from cracking knuckles is reduced grip strength.

^-.-^

Pfft, I crack my knuckles, and most other joints, regularly, last time my grip strength was tested it was about 15kg above average for my age and my pinch strength test was off the scale (the testing machine didn't actually go high enough to be able to record it)

[LewisLegion]

Yeah, it felt marvelous when it cracked. Up until that moment, it ached all the way up to my elbow...kind of felt like it does if you were to extend your middle finger down and then push on it JUST until it hurts...and leave it there for a very long time. The crack was total relief.

The hand is doing fine. Scab is gone. It's still red and ever so slightly tender and you can feel a little ball under the skin when you push on it but I took all my antibiotics and doc said it's no longer infected, so all is good. The dog is doing wonderfully, you'd never know anything happened to her at all.

[ShadowBall]

Oh man, I have to crack my knuckles every day for the sake of comfort. Hell, I have to crack lots of things - toes, ankles, spine, neck. I thank the person who taught me in high school how to give my back a good twist because it is soooo relieving.

But definitely glad to hear that little crack in the shower got everything back in place for you! And that nurse can go fornicate herself - just because you didn't have your arm dangling by a thread doesn't mean it wasn't or could not have been serious.

And I've had cats my whole life...been scratched and bitten all to hell since I was about three (mostly by stray cats) and I surprisingly never got sick. I think the worst scratch I got was when my grandma was mad that a "dirty" stray was on my lap and she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and tried to throw him off me. Unfortunately for me, his reflexes were faster than Grandma's and he hooked his claws into both my legs to hang on for dear life. Owwie.