This is a bit weird, but I started getting mild wrist pain from computer use in college, and I credit two things with reversing it. One was rock climbing which strengthened my forearms and wrists, and the other was developing a habit of cracking my wrist joints. I stopped rock climbing many years ago but I continue to crack my wrists to this day. The habit causes me to flex and stretch my wrists every so often and I really think that has prevented me from developing repetitive strain injuries from mouse and keyboard use.
I've had serious issues with my wrist in June (after decades of sitting in front of computer for most of the worktime), it hurt when bent or when using it for almost any load.
I tried painkiller cream (don't think it helped), wrist brace (pretty much impossible to use mouse with it), wrist exercises (bending/stretching arm) didn't help.
I switched from traditional mouse (HP 255 dual wireless) to my wife's Logitech Lift Vertical (she didn't use and bought based on my recommendation anyway, so replaced with my HP) and the pain/issues were gone in ~2 weeks, not sure if it was thanks to the vertical mouse or if it would gone by itself, but just to be safe I keep using vertical mouse. Later I went to preventive check with my kid to their pediatrician, amusingly noticed he is using exactly same mouse.
Btw. how do you crack your wrist (you mean sudden movement to left/right/up/down)? I crack finger joints, but would never think of cracking the wrist.
This is good to read about, and nice that it has and research referenced.
It's interesting to know that it's gas collapsing. And nothing to do with the bone rubbing.
And it makes you wonder what chiropractors are actually doing when they're popping your back... It's probably not doing anything to help you with your pain. And it's probably not actually adjusting anything.
I recommend reading up on the actual history of chiropractic ... I've seen articles that seem to make it clear that it was long con right from the start.
I acknowledge that this is not the only view on the history.
DOs are sorta weird in the US. They go to real medical school for 4 years like MDs and practice actual licensed medicine at the same level as an MD. They can even call themselves physicians.
Non DO osteopaths are not trained with any sort of scientifically backed curriculum.
Chiropratic can help with pain, but not for the claimed reasons. Studies show it's as efficacious as massage therapy. I believe the same is true of cupping. Insurers increasingly cover these sorts of therapies, and primary's increasingly prescribe them, because they're cheaper than a real doctor's time, especially a specialist's, and the patient is more likely to feel better than if they were subjected to a long diagnostic gauntlet with an inconclusive end.
I have difficulty breathing sometimes but when bones were adjusted on my back, it was an instant relief, breathing like I have never experienced for a very long time that I almost forgot. Effortless and deep.
Just tripping a bit messed up my SI joint pretty bad a few years back. It didn't even seem serious at the time, just a bit of a stumble off of the curb, but the next day I could barely get out of bed and was in pretty serious pain for several days. Couldn't go up stairs and had a tough time getting my pants on. Still acts up sometimes.
There is a chain of clinics here called "Emergency Chiropractic" and they advertise how they take insurance and get your adverse diagnosis fast, fast, fast.
It's surprising that it's not common knowledge that "Chiropractic" is not medicine, nor a science, and the field is associated with vaccine misinformation and unproven supplements.
Another question, has anyone noticed cracking knuckles being contagious like yarning?
I often crack my knuckles and quite often see others noticing and doing it themselves.
Sorry to see the down votes you are getting. I am an inveterate knuckle-cracker, but I very much understand that a subset of people find it unpleasant and irritating to hear.
The article makes a point to mention specifically that excessive/forceful neck cracking can be dangerous, but then switches to just "Cracking your own neck is not recommended"... but to me it sounds like they're referring more to the forceful kind, such as the manipulations on youtube they reference.
I suppose it's like asking people to stop using q-tips... they're probably not going to, and the amount of people accidentally injured from either seems to be quite low.
And you think YouTube represents the average user of q-tips?
Even when YouTube has videos uploaded by doctors having to put up with this kind of stupidity, it doesn't change the fact that hardly anyone does that. The vast majority of stuff uploaded to YouTube isn't even that. It's losers trying to get views.
> For some reason, be aware or careful always gets compressed to avoidance
The reason is legal liability, generally.
If you sell Q-Tips and tell people to be careful when sticking them in their ears you're likely to be held legally liable when someone isn't careful because there will be infinite wiggle room for them to claim you didn't specify the safe use clearly enough.
If you sell Q-Tips and tell people not to put them in their ear (even though you know that's why most people are buying them) then when someone sues you for messing up their ear you can tap the words on the box and say "well, we told you not to do that".
This is a bit weird, but I started getting mild wrist pain from computer use in college, and I credit two things with reversing it. One was rock climbing which strengthened my forearms and wrists, and the other was developing a habit of cracking my wrist joints. I stopped rock climbing many years ago but I continue to crack my wrists to this day. The habit causes me to flex and stretch my wrists every so often and I really think that has prevented me from developing repetitive strain injuries from mouse and keyboard use.
I've had serious issues with my wrist in June (after decades of sitting in front of computer for most of the worktime), it hurt when bent or when using it for almost any load.
I tried painkiller cream (don't think it helped), wrist brace (pretty much impossible to use mouse with it), wrist exercises (bending/stretching arm) didn't help.
I switched from traditional mouse (HP 255 dual wireless) to my wife's Logitech Lift Vertical (she didn't use and bought based on my recommendation anyway, so replaced with my HP) and the pain/issues were gone in ~2 weeks, not sure if it was thanks to the vertical mouse or if it would gone by itself, but just to be safe I keep using vertical mouse. Later I went to preventive check with my kid to their pediatrician, amusingly noticed he is using exactly same mouse.
Btw. how do you crack your wrist (you mean sudden movement to left/right/up/down)? I crack finger joints, but would never think of cracking the wrist.
This is good to read about, and nice that it has and research referenced.
It's interesting to know that it's gas collapsing. And nothing to do with the bone rubbing.
And it makes you wonder what chiropractors are actually doing when they're popping your back... It's probably not doing anything to help you with your pain. And it's probably not actually adjusting anything.
I recommend reading up on the actual history of chiropractic ... I've seen articles that seem to make it clear that it was long con right from the start.
I acknowledge that this is not the only view on the history.
Its a con that is trying very hard to become legitimate.
Chiros started as a scam, continued as a scam, and are now a widely accepted scam. The legit work they do is often just physical therapy.
Just go to a physical therapist.
Its such a scam that professional sports teams all hire chiropractors to work on the bodies they invest millions of dollars into each year.
Yes, rich people get scammed too.
none of us is as dumb as all of us...
It's a con like osteopathic "medicine". D.O. should be shunned and rejected because it's pretending to be legitimate and/or legitimized.
DOs are sorta weird in the US. They go to real medical school for 4 years like MDs and practice actual licensed medicine at the same level as an MD. They can even call themselves physicians.
Non DO osteopaths are not trained with any sort of scientifically backed curriculum.
I have a cousin who is a DO (in the US). It seems like it's basically an out to get effectively an MD with a slightly lower bar for admission.
Once you're in the program, it's basically the same as an MD program, and then you go through residency programs on an equal basis with MDs.
“You have a fever because of the ghosts in your bones”
Chiropratic can help with pain, but not for the claimed reasons. Studies show it's as efficacious as massage therapy. I believe the same is true of cupping. Insurers increasingly cover these sorts of therapies, and primary's increasingly prescribe them, because they're cheaper than a real doctor's time, especially a specialist's, and the patient is more likely to feel better than if they were subjected to a long diagnostic gauntlet with an inconclusive end.
I have difficulty breathing sometimes but when bones were adjusted on my back, it was an instant relief, breathing like I have never experienced for a very long time that I almost forgot. Effortless and deep.
If a chiropractor could adjust something by pushing on your bone, imagine what tripping and falling would do.
Tripping and falling can mess you up for a long time. And I don't mean broken bones.
Just tripping a bit messed up my SI joint pretty bad a few years back. It didn't even seem serious at the time, just a bit of a stumble off of the curb, but the next day I could barely get out of bed and was in pretty serious pain for several days. Couldn't go up stairs and had a tough time getting my pants on. Still acts up sometimes.
So can a chiropractor!
I think that's the joke?
There is a chain of clinics here called "Emergency Chiropractic" and they advertise how they take insurance and get your adverse diagnosis fast, fast, fast.
https://youtu.be/kOzwC5j7UkA?si=sHdHJzzEdn-E2a_N
And their mascot is literally a duck! I think it took me ten years to figure out the quack part here!
It's surprising that it's not common knowledge that "Chiropractic" is not medicine, nor a science, and the field is associated with vaccine misinformation and unproven supplements.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic
Sadly many universities offer degrees with chiropractic being a major part.
Osteopathy makes even bolder claims for similar shit and has been legitimized into the medical community as "equal" to medical doctors.
Really BBC ?
Bruce Lee cracked his knuckles a lot, and he died in his 30s. He was in great shape too.
But I think it's mostly just escaping gases.
Edit: ^ is my way of asking why this is on HN, which I never do, cause then someone could ask the same about me.
Yup. Bruce Lee drank water. He died. Anyone who drinks water will eventually die. It's a fact.
You know, water is basically made up of rocket fuel. And they put it in our kids' schools.
Another question, has anyone noticed cracking knuckles being contagious like yarning? I often crack my knuckles and quite often see others noticing and doing it themselves.
Not in my house. It's annoying.
Sorry to see the down votes you are getting. I am an inveterate knuckle-cracker, but I very much understand that a subset of people find it unpleasant and irritating to hear.
I have bad news for you about what happens your joints as you get older
I am older. ;-)
Betteridge says?
TL,DR: No, unless you're doing it so hard that you're straining your joints. But don't crack your neck.
> don't crack your neck
The article makes a point to mention specifically that excessive/forceful neck cracking can be dangerous, but then switches to just "Cracking your own neck is not recommended"... but to me it sounds like they're referring more to the forceful kind, such as the manipulations on youtube they reference.
I suppose it's like asking people to stop using q-tips... they're probably not going to, and the amount of people accidentally injured from either seems to be quite low.
Yeah, and with the q-tips, it seems trival to do it safely. For some reason, be aware or careful always gets compressed to avoidance
YouTube has some pretty awful videos of ear canals full of cotton fibers. Touching the eardrum is not the only risk.
And you think YouTube represents the average user of q-tips?
Even when YouTube has videos uploaded by doctors having to put up with this kind of stupidity, it doesn't change the fact that hardly anyone does that. The vast majority of stuff uploaded to YouTube isn't even that. It's losers trying to get views.
> For some reason, be aware or careful always gets compressed to avoidance
The reason is legal liability, generally.
If you sell Q-Tips and tell people to be careful when sticking them in their ears you're likely to be held legally liable when someone isn't careful because there will be infinite wiggle room for them to claim you didn't specify the safe use clearly enough.
If you sell Q-Tips and tell people not to put them in their ear (even though you know that's why most people are buying them) then when someone sues you for messing up their ear you can tap the words on the box and say "well, we told you not to do that".