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Dear Jason:
Your knuckles are, in fact, joints. We have hundreds of them throughout our body at the places
where various bones meet. Without joints (and the muscles which move them), we couldn't move our
bodies.
Strong bands of fibrous tissue, called tendons, link your bones together. And cartilage, the
slippery, semi-hard substance found at the end of bones, enables bones to move against each other
without damage.
Doctors don't really know what causes joints to make that popping or cracking sound. It may be
as simple as the sound of your joint's tendons and ligaments snapping over bones as you move your
joint. However, the answer may be more complicated. Regardless of the cause of the sound, doctors
do suggest that you not try to make music with these joint sounds. You can damage your joints by
habitual cracking and popping! Really....
Signed,
Wendell
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