Spine Myth #1

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Spine myth number one, cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. So, this is probably the most common myth I hear. A doctor named Donald Unger cracked knuckles on one hand every single day for 50 years. Left hand, he left alone.

[00:00:13]No difference, no arthritis. He even won a Nobel Prize for this. The sound that you hear when you crack your joints, that's gas bubbles releasing from the synovial fluid around the joint. It's not bone grinding on bone, it's not causing damage. Now, does that mean you should crack your own neck at home?

[00:00:28]Absolutely not. Your neck is not your knuckles, but the cracking sound during a professional adjustment is completely normal. Follow for a new spine myth every week. We've got a long list to cover.