• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / What Causes the Sound When You Crack Your Knuckles or Any Other Joint and Where Does the Nitrogen Come From?

What Causes the Sound When You Crack Your Knuckles or Any Other Joint and Where Does the Nitrogen Come From?

February 13, 2020 by Karen Hill

All the soft tissues of the body, including the capsules of joints, contain dissolved nitrogen.

When a vacuum is applied to the joint space by pulling on the bones, say by flexing the fingers strongly, nitrogen suddenly comes out of solution and enters the joint space with a slight popping sound.

Radiologists often see a small crescent of gas between the cartilages of the shoulder joint on the chest X-rays of children who are held by the arms.

This is due to the force of pulling on the arms causing nitrogen to evaporate into the joint space.

It can infrequently be seen in the hip too.

Small, highly mobile bubbles sometimes appear within the hip joint of a baby being screened for congenital dislocation of the hip using ultrasound.

This usually happens if the infant is struggling and has to be held firmly.

The bubbles disappear after a short while when the nitrogen dissolves again.

If the fingers were X-rayed immediately after cracking the knuckles a fine lucency, as a result of thousands of tiny opaque bubbles, would probably be visible between the ends of the bones.

The sounds or noises when you crack your knuckles are sometimes produced during osteopathic treatment, but this does not prove that the treatment has worked, nor does their absence mean the treatment has failed.

The test of success is whether the joint’s range and ease of movement have been improved.

Related Facts

  • What Happens When You Crack Your Knuckles, What Causes the Sound, and Does It Cause Arthritis?
  • Where does Crack Cocaine come from and How do Drug Lords make crack?
  • What Causes the Crack of a Whip and How Does the Tip Reach the Speed of Sound and Cause a Sonic Boom?
  • Why Does Thunder Sound Like a Sharp Crack, and Sometimes Like a Low Rumble?
  • Where does the phrase "to put one's nose out of joint" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where Did the Term "Blind Pig" For a Bootleg Joint Come From and What Does the Phrase Mean?
  • What Was the First Joint U.S. and Soviet Spaceflight and How Was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Symbolic?
  • How do Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria help Plants grow by producing Ammonia and Nitrates?
  • How Was Ernest Rutherford the First Alchemist To Convert Nitrogen Into Oxygen From a Nuclear Reaction?
  • Why Does Glass Squeak When You Rub It and How Does Friction From Your Finger On a Window Create a Sound?
  • What causes you to get a lump in your throat and how can you prevent it?
  • Where does the expression "to crack a crib" come from and What does it mean?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why Are You More Likely To Catch a Cold In Winter Indoors, or When It’s Cold Out, and Why Do You Catch a Chill?
Next Post: Why Isn’t My Pee the Color of the Drink I Had and What Happens To the Color of the Food and Drink We Consume? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy