breaking your fingers

[_chops]

here is a question I've been wondering about for many years.... Is it dangerous to break one's fingers? Will they get.. "slower?" This is one of my bad habits. I have periods when I break my fingers maybe 3 times a day...IS it dangerous? does some one have a direct answer to this?
    or i'll stop immidiatelty. but sometimes I think the moves get slower if I dont break them... well.... please tell me!

[stevie]

hmmmm, this is a bit hilarious

you obviously mean 'cracking your knuckles', literally breaking your fingers 3 times a day would result in.....no fingers

[leahcim]

does some one have a direct answer to this?

No, no one does [if Stevie's assumption about what you mean is correct].

There are studies and grandmothers, but nothing definitive.

Probably the easiest way to consider it, in context, is that there's no requirement to do it to be able to play the piano.

[zheer]

Ouch.

[invictus]

By using a hammer to break your fingers 3 times a day? Or by playing some rach and breaking your fingers? 3 times a day is too much 

[Motrax]

My finger joints crack by themselves sometimes, and if anything, I've noticed an improvement in my playing since I developed this odd capability. I wouldn't worry about it.

[_chops]

lol im so sorry.... its my bad english. well, luckely I dont break them everyday. i mean i crack them... sorry but how many crack them regualry then?

[Kassaa]

100 times a day, never counted it. First, it isn't of any bad influence on your piano playing, and a few weeks ago I read that people who do it have less chance on Arthritis than people who don't crack their knuckles do.

[gruffalo]

100 times a day, never counted it. First, it isn't of any bad influence on your piano playing, and a few weeks ago I read that people who do it have less chance on Arthritis than people who don't crack their knuckles do.

i would read some more places about this. it probably wont make your fingers slower, but it certainly does lead to arthritis. dont get in to the habit of cracking, it does no good.

[donjuan]

i would read some more places about this. it probably wont make your fingers slower, but it certainly does lead to arthritis.

No evidence for that!  According to my grandmother, I can catch a cold if I go out in the rain, and something even more ridiculous: I can get arthritis from cracking my knuckles! 

I think it was about a year ago that I asked about this on the forum, and Bernhard or xvimbi, or someone smart gave a bunch of government medical websites and university websites about studies done in the area.  No correlation was found between arthritis and cracking the knuckles, but there was evidence to suggest that it makes the knuckles larger over time, and right after cracking, mobility increases because pressure being released in the joint air sockets or something like that.

sorry for not remember the exact thread.... it was a looong time ago

donjuan

[gorbee natcase]

People who crack there fingers and the sound travels through the flesh to be audible can not be doing any good. you can crack your knuckles without making noise by doing it gently if you need to do it

[gruffalo]

ok, it may not be directly linked to arthritis, but cracking your fingers wont do any good. doing things to your body like that certainly wont do any good, its just common sense.

[donjuan]

Many people (including two friends of mine) swear by Chiropractors.  Without their periodic back cracking, they are in terrible pain.  It could be a placebo effect, maybe it is all in their heads, but all I know is that they are much happier when someone cracks their back every now and then.  There you go, signs that it does something good.

[gruffalo]

Actually, sportsmen crack their backs before doing their stuff (generally in their warm ups). But finger cracking gets addictive, and from the sounds and stuff it creates i doubt it does any good. i noticed when i once got into the habit of cracking, the knuckle of my right index finger began to look red and sore. eventually i stopped, and the redness stopped.

[jlh]

I just played the Rach 2 up to speed with orchestra a month ago.  I crack my knuckles, therefore speed is not adversely affected.  I have not observed any other adverse effects either.  I also crack my back, neck and many other joints.

When you crack your knuckles you are actually releasing pressure on the joints.  In all probability you are not doing any damage to your joints, tendons or any other part of the anatomy.  Now if what you're doing is actually cracking your tendon on another part of the anatomy, then yeah you will have problems.  I don't think this is what's happening to the majority of joint-crackers, though.

I am not a doctor, but this is what I've learned over the years.