Posts made by imabadpixie

Hey Hannah

I click too (although i am on 3 weeks 2 days without!) my worst are my knuckles….

I picked up a few tips on this forumn a few years ago when i tried to stop before.. The best one i found was to put an elastic band around your wrist and ping it each time you feel the urge to click. I think this is a form of cognative behaviour therapy and i found it most useful to think of the clicking urge as a type of addition rather than as an annoying habbit.

This time round i have not clicked out of sheer will power. I find the first day isnt too bad, but weeks 2-7 are quite hard and stressful. Hands feel tight, uncomfortable and non mobile. I am yet to find out when it stops being uncomfortable...!!

I have also, in the past, made myself a plaster caste glove to put on and wear so that i physically couldnt click. This would have worked if the glove hadnt been SO cold to wear!

Anyway, all the best

Robyn x

http://www.topmarksplumbing.co.uk a friendly, reliable plumber based in Surrey UK.

Hi Amy, Im Robyn!!

I crack my knuckles and used to crack my neck… I joined here to get help with stopping because my boyfriend and mum both hate me doing it and, although i absolutely do not subscribe to the thought that it gives you arthritus, I am also not convinced that it is the best thing to do.

I haven't clicked my fingers for 11 weeks and a day today... which is the longest I've gone since i was about 12, which is over 9 years ago...

I have heard that clicking your neck is actually not a great idea and can increase your risk of stroke, so be careful! My neck clicks occassionally as i have a repetative whiplash injury which started on a trampoline and then was agrivated at a gig haha!

This forum has quietened down over the last couple of months which is a shame, but anyway, i thought i would welcome you!!

Take care

Robyn x

hmm well it is pretty painful sometimes… but it was worst in the 3rd week.. I hope i can keep it up this time, my boyfriend hates the noise lol. I don't really buy into the artritus argument but i also dont buy that it's particularly good for you... I'm just gonna keeeep trying!!

Ta v much… 5 weeks 1 day without cracking!!

Haha probably!!… no i am doing really well this time, altho it hurts like crazy some days :(.

anyway, hello everyone

Robyn x

Hello i used to be here ages ago… and im back i love this forum.... i have given up cracking for over a month now (altho i had done 2 months in the past and then went back) but its good havin a chat with fellow crackers

Robyn

www.culinarycrusades.co.uk

good research JC,

Just to be random-
my neck clicked 4 times today all at the same time while i was driving, and now its stop hurting and i think my whiplash has been mildly cured. Lol
I can see the logic in it being dangerous tho.

Take care!

Robyn

hmmm i guess my loudest is my index finger in the mornings, and my back is pretty quiet.
Good question because i would assume that the loudest would be the joint that is:
1. Most exposed
2. Joint where it is easy to apply large pressure
and
3. Joint that can be unused (so that air/tension builds up)

So that would make sence for me…

Anyway

Robyn

Hi everyone, i went to the doctors today because i have reactivated whiplash i had about a year ago- which is characterised by painful crunching in my neck. I asked him if i should abstain from trying to crack my neck as although the crack is painful, it takes away some of the muscle pain and he said NO. He said dont worry about it , its only the sound of air bubbles releasing and sounds loud because its near your ears..
So then i asked him is opinion on knuckle cracking, and he popped his fingers right infront of me saying, 'its just releasing air, it doesnt matter either way.'

So there we go, ive asked 2 doctors the same question and both have given me opposit answers. The first doctor gasped and told me never to click my fingers again as i will get arthritus.. which we know isnt linked.

I expected this differ in opinions, but i just find it so weird that there has been no conclusion on this subject.

Anyway I'm still aiming to stop- my nearest and dearest hate the noise and i want to see how long the pressure urge will continue after stopping.

Take care all,

Robyn

hmmm i guess i was physically more stressed, and although i am not doing quite as well as cold turkey as i was in the first week, its still making me stressed to abstain. My wrists have got better seeing that im not totally stopped, so i guess it must be something to do with ligament changes or something? I dont know?

I went to a concert yesterday and think i reactivated a whiplash in my neck that i got from a bad fall while trampolining and its making my neck click- but not nicely. Also, my neck only ever started cracking when i had damaged it, so i wonder if this is a joint which can only be clicked if damaged, or maybe all joints are so- i guess anyone who clicks their fingers must have bent them back or something in the past- you know.

Anyway its so helpful to think of it as an addiction, because i find myself feeling more satisfyed when stopping- rather than thinking 'well youre being stupid anyway'.

other than stress i dont think i felt anything else- of course that not including the physical tension in joints and mental urge to crunch which i certinaly did/do have!

Ill keep you updated if the tension gets any less :).

Robyn

yeah i think its important to stop if you want to, but near to impossible if you dont. I wanted to see how long i could resist the urges and if they would gradually fade etc and if i had any physical symptoms from withdrawing. Being a nurse, do you think that knuckle cracking should be treated as an addiction?
That was the one thought that really helped me!

Take care

Robyn

Hey just thought id post to say that i have managed to cut down the amount i crack after reading some tips on this site.
Personally, i used an elastic band around my wrist to remind me not to crack, and whenever i felt the urge i would hold the band so that my hands couldnt crunch. ((I only really crack my knuckles)). I did this for a WEEK, and managed to keep my self control up all that time- i only cracked about 5 times alllllll week. It was painful, but now i get urges abit less, which is good. I do give into the really strong urges, but they are now not in all my fingers. Also its much easier to control it in situations where others can be like 8O !

Its worth trying, the only thing is, ive noticed that my wrists now pop, which never happened before- i wonder if this is anything to do with the less frequent finger clicking?

Take care all let me know if anyones trying to stop!

Robyn

Hi, thought i would just introduce myself. Ive been cracking properly for probably 3 years which i know isnt too long. I only really click my fingers, but ALOT like i could probably go through the whole set about 50 times a day. I started cracking at first when i was very young to try and encourage my dad to stop, but it didnt work and i just inherited the 'addiction'.
Trying so hard not to crack, but it aches so bad, ive not cracked since tuesday at 6pm lol. I think though that its more of a mental thing.

So hello everyone! And take care!

Robyn x

hey :), when i click, my fingers can pretty much all touch my palms… but im trying to stop now! (Been non crunching for 3 days and 4 hours!) Also, i can arch my fingers backwards more if i click... but not sure if my hands can just 'do that'. I guess that's part of the attraction of crunching, being and feeling super flexible.

Take care

Robyn x

Just wondered….

I play the bass in a band, and often my fingertips get really really cold for no reason. It's worse in the hand that i crack more, and i wondered if anyone else got this?

When i say cold, i mean extremely cold and it doesnt seem to help if i shake out my hands or anything. Could cracking your fingers/any other joint damage your circulation?

Im trying to stop but i find it very hard to play my bass when i need to click my fingers!

Also, does anyone feel hightended stress levels when trying to abstain from cracking?

Robyn

hey everyone, I click my fingers more when its cold. I get a sort of mixed urge and pain in my hand and sometimes down my arm if i dont, and it is MUCH WORSE in cold weather or when my hands are cold. This might not happen to everyone but im sure there is a relationship between weather and the need to click.
I also notice that the sound changes abit too. In cold weather the click is more 'clean' and slightly higher pitched, whereas in hot weather it is duller and more crunchy. Does anyone else get this? And would this suggest that the clicking is my ligaments and not the bubbles?

Take care everyone!

Robyn