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Topic: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?  (Read 3561 times)

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Offline Death_Merchant

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Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« on: October 05, 2009, 02:19:00 am »
Nope.

Mom was wrong, at least for one Donald Unger.

Behold one of the glorious winners of the 2009 Ig Nobel prize!!

Arthritis and Rheumatism, vol 41, p 949
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/86510619/abstract

Donald Unger, an allergist in Thousand Oaks, California, earned the medicine prize for addressing another timeless question: does cracking knuckles really cause arthritis, as his mother warned him it would?

To resolve the issue Unger embarked on a long-term controlled experiment, and began cracking the knuckles on his left hand twice a day, but not those on his right. He has done so for more than 60 years, and never suffered arthritis in either hand.
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Offline Nemesis

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2009, 06:48:09 am »
In my case I was diagnosed with arthritis relatively young, but it (mostly) went away when I gave up caffeine. 

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Offline Bonk

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2009, 02:58:47 pm »
Quote from: Nemesis on October 05, 2009, 06:48:09 am
In my case I was diagnosed with arthritis relatively young, but it (mostly) went away when I gave up caffeine.


Did you give up caffeine or soft drinks with significant phosphoric acid concentrations (colas)? As excessive cola consumption (large quantities consistently) can promote the formation of apatites (hexametaphosphate based) in the joints. Crunchy and painful. Diagnosed as arthritis.

Regarding the story: one sample does not a study make. Though I guess that's OK for an Ig Nobel. There is too much single sample "science" out there though, I don't think people should be encouraged.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_size
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of_freedom_(statistics)

edit: let's make it two samples: I have been cracking my knuckles and joints as long as I can remember (>30 years). I do not have arthritis yet.
« Last Edit: October 05, 2009, 03:17:35 pm by Bonk »
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Offline Death_Merchant

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2009, 04:01:24 pm »
You are, of course, correct Bonk.

...and you'll note I carefully sidestepped that by stating "at least for one Don Unger."
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Offline Just plain old Punisher

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2009, 04:03:16 pm »
All you're doing is releasing the fluid that's between the joints. Doesn't do anything.
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Offline Nemesis

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2009, 04:59:35 pm »
Quote from: Bonk on October 05, 2009, 02:58:47 pm
Did you give up caffeine or soft drinks with significant phosphoric acid concentrations (colas)? As excessive cola consumption (large quantities consistently) can promote the formation of apatites (hexametaphosphate based) in the joints. Crunchy and painful. Diagnosed as arthritis.

One glass of coke a day Monday to Friday.  I don't think that would qualify as "large" quantities.

There were other effects too.  I lost 3 allergies and stopped sun burning and actually tan now.

The negative effects didn't totally stop until I gave up chocolate too.
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Offline Tus-XC

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2009, 11:53:28 pm »
Quote from: Nemesis on October 05, 2009, 04:59:35 pm
Quote from: Bonk on October 05, 2009, 02:58:47 pm
Did you give up caffeine or soft drinks with significant phosphoric acid concentrations (colas)? As excessive cola consumption (large quantities consistently) can promote the formation of apatites (hexametaphosphate based) in the joints. Crunchy and painful. Diagnosed as arthritis.

One glass of coke a day Monday to Friday.  I don't think that would qualify as "large" quantities.

There were other effects too.  I lost 3 allergies and stopped sun burning and actually tan now.

The negative effects didn't totally stop until I gave up chocolate too.

allergic to caffine... well that kinda sucks... well i suppose you could use apples to wake up - they supposadly have more wake up power than coffee does :)
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Offline Nemesis

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2009, 05:06:44 am »
Quote from: Tus-XC on October 06, 2009, 11:53:28 pm
allergic to caffine... well that kinda sucks... well i suppose you could use apples to wake up - they supposadly have more wake up power than coffee does :)

What sucks more is that for most of my life the caffeine was making me allergic to perfume.  You just can't avoid perfume so I have spent almost my whole life sick to one degree or another.  Only since early May 2007 has that been cured.
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Do unto others as Frey has done unto you.
Seti Team    Free Software
I believe truth and principle do matter. If you have to sacrifice them to get the results you want, then the results aren't worth it.
 FoaS_XC : "Take great pains to distinguish a criticism vs. an attack. A person reading a post should never be able to confuse the two."

Offline Soreyes

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Re: Was your Mom right? Cracking knuckles really causes arthritis?
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2009, 04:25:26 am »
Welp as I get older I find that all that stuff I did in my late Teens and early to mid 30's catching up with me. Jumping off the sides and tops of tanks, and LVT's has now left me with arthritis in my hips, knees, and ankles. And all those fun filled times of crawling through grass, desert, and what not has left me allergic to just about anything that grows and is green. ::)

Well I do follow one thing that Father Ted pointed out........ Beer and Scotch do help  ;D
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