What makes the sound when we crack our knuckles?

Hey guyzz...Have you ever thought why does a sound is produced when you crack your knuckles? If not, then not to worry my friends, I have thought about it on your behalf :p. Just the other day, I was getting ready to practice my guitar and was doing the warm up exercise of my hands when I cracked my knuckles and I noticed the sound coming out of my knuckles. It got me thinking as to what is the reason behind this funny sound !!

I searched about it and understood, as to why this thing occurs.To understand what happens when you "crack" your knuckles, or any other joint, first you need a little background about the nature of the joints of the body. The type of joints that you can most easily "pop" or "crack" are the diarthrodial joints(Diarthrodial joints are freely moveable joints held together by a joint capsule, such as the temporomandibular joint, knee and shoulder, as opposed to slightly moveable (amphiarthrodial) or immoveable (synarthrodial) joints, such as the spinal and sutural joints, respectively. They are the type of joint most commonly involved in rheumatological disease.The sacroiliac (SI) joints in the pelvic region are an example of a diarthrodial joint ). These are your most typical joints. They consist of two bones that contact each other at their cartilage surfaces; the cartilage surfaces are surrounded by a joint capsule. Inside the joint capsule is a lubricant, known as synovial fluid, which also serves as a source of nutrients for the cells that maintain the joint cartilage. In addition, the synovial fluid contains dissolved gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
The places in your body where you can bend, are where your bones intersect and are held together by ligaments. When you stretch your ligaments by pulling the bones apart to crack your knuckles a gas in the synovial fluid escapes and turns into a bubble. This process is called cavitation. Cavitation ends when the bubble eventually bursts, producing that popping sound we know and love. After that, your joints won’t be able to crack for another 25-30 minutes while the gas gets reabsorbed into the synovial fluid.
Cracking your knuckles (or any of your joints) can have therapeutic benefits. When you crack one of your joints you are pulling the bones that are connected at the joint apart from each other. This process stimulates your tendons, relaxes your muscles, and loosens your joints. Chiropractors do this for spinal joints when your back is sore and stiff, but you can do this on your own for your knuckles, toes, knees, neck, etc.

Unfortunately, there can be too much of a good thing.Cracking your knuckles will never lead to arthritis (despite what your mom keeps telling you), but scientists have discovered that it can cause tissue damage in the affected joints. Knuckle-cracking pulls your finger bones apart which stretches your ligaments.Too much stretching of your ligaments will cause damage to your fingers akin to the arm injuries sustained by a baseball pitcher who throws too many pitches. In addition to making your hand really sore, this ligament damage can also result in reduced grip strength.

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