Them Bones

[koan]

A chiropractor explained the popping sound before and that it was pockets that form at the joints not the bones themselves. It's just easier to say "bones".

[Idgie]

Originally Posted by koan

A chiropractor explained the popping sound before and that it was pockets that form at the joints not the bones themselves. It's just easier to say "bones".

Learn something new all the time here.

Yep....my knee and ankles crack all the time.

[laneybug]

I crack my fingers, toes, and sometimes when I move my right ankle around it does this little popping thing. Let's see.... my neck if I roll it right, but I don't like doing that since I don't imagine it's very good for it. And my back. My back I'm always stretching. I like to get on the floor and lay flat and then I'll bring my knees to my chest in a type of roll thing and it'll pop. Oh it feels good.

But yeah, it's the air in the joints that makes that cracking sound.

[Bill Sikes]

Originally Posted by koan

A chiropractor explained the popping sound before and that it was pockets that form at the joints not the bones themselves. It's just easier to say "bones".

It's caused by cavitation - effectively a change of state from liquid to gas of
some of the synovial fluid in the joint - a bubble of vapourised fluid is created
due to reduced pressure, which subsequently collapses (turns back to liquid)
causing a "Pop!". It's probably not a good thing; cavitation will cause damage
to machinery and pipework in general, however the body is probably a little
more self-healing.