Kiffin's blog has one entry from 2002
which accumulated many testimonials of Jointcrackers which encouraged me to
start this web community. Due to a lack for better words I'll quote the initial
post in full:
Let's see now, how
many joints of my body can I crack? A whole lot, that's for sure. Well,
there are my eight fingers and my two thumbs, that's ten, two extra low
dull cracks per thumb and three additional snaps for each finger (two
sideways and one downward), that's twenty-six more thus thirty-six
total. Then come my two elbows, two knee caps, twice the metacarpals of
my feet, two big toes and the other eight toes, that's sixteen more
joints bringing the total to fifty-two cracks. My back at three places,
fifty-five. And then there is my neck, three (sometimes four) wonderful
release cracks like a machine gun going off. Sixty-one (sometimes
sixty-three). There are also a number of micro-cracks sometimes
available by twisting my pinkies and/or ring fingers a certain way.
Okay, on average ten extra micro-cracks totaling to one good full crack
making it sixty-four. Sometimes sixty-five that is. That's a good many
cracks per cycle. Over a good day I can repeat this sixty-four crack
cycle perhaps let's say eight times bring a grand total of five hundred
twelve cracks. On occasion I can even crack the cartilage of my nose,
does that count? Make that five hundred thirteen cracks total then.
Hard to believe that there are some people out there who rarely have a
single crack in a day nor in a week nor rarely ever. And then when a
finger is accidentally bent too far back and cracks, these people
scream in subdued pain and disgust as if cracking one's knuckles is a
terrible thing to let happen.
"The
mechanism by which clicking noises can be produced by extreme pulling,
twisting, flexion, or extension of joints is well established. When a
joint is deformed in this way, the pressure in the joint space
decreased, and a CO2 filled cavity forms in the synovial fluid. The
pressure in the cavity is lower than that in the surrounding fluid, so
the fluid quickly rushes into the cavity. This sudden implosion of the
cavity is thought to be what causes the distasteful cracking sound.
Interestingly, tiny bubbles of CO2 remain in the synovial fluid, taking
about 15 minutes to be reabsorbed. This explains why a knuckle cannot
be recracked immediately."
Each crack feels
really really good, as if I am addicted to some cracking drug, but the
pleasures last no more than a second or two, including the after
effects. Crack, yes, all gone, for a time at least. For each joint that
cracks one has to wait around ten minutes before the next time it can
be cracked, but the longer you wait the better the crack. The first
crack is always by far the best, with each following crack less
fulfilling depending on how long you wait in-between cracks. Stop that,
stop cracking your knuckles! Sorry, I cannot help it. I am tensed up
inside, I am restless, I am insecure and so it is necessary to crack
every single possible metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joint in
my body that is even remotely possible to crack. When I was around ten
or so I learned for the first time that I could crack my fingers. What
a major discovery that was. Almost as good as the day I first learned
to burp on command. Slowly this cracking urge spread to the other parts
of my body. Something one is born with and in adolescence comes into
fulfillment, you might say. When I wake up, especially from a long deep
motionless slumber, my stiffness thaws and then explodes with all kinds
of random cracks whichever way I move, twist or turn. Like an
ice-breaker crackling through the frozen sea of the morning. Crack,
crack, snap and pop.
Crack my knuckles
Please feel free to discuss joint cracking in the
forums!
