my 9 year old daughter constantly cracks her knuckles and pulls on her fingers. I mean she is doing it ALL the time and when I ask her to stop, she says she can't. She says her friends at school do it and so it is ok.. I am thinking she has anxiety and does it as a nervous habit. my question is will it hurt her hands and what can I do about it?
Thanks!
I have done it since I was around that age. They always said it would cause arthritis...Well I am only 35 but no problems yet :)
I don't do it out of anxiety rather than just habit. Friends did it in school so I started too. Just a habit and it does feel good :)
I had this habit when I was young. My aunt is a pediatrician and told me that cracking your knuckles isn't a bad thing UNLESS you crack them from side to side. The "pop" sound just comes from little bubbles that form in the knuckles, so it's not harmful. But cracking knuckles from side to side can lead to joint problems. I grew out of the habit, but I'd at least let your daughter know that if she's going to crack them, to crack them "correctly."
My chiropractor said it is the release of gases when you hear that cracking sounds. He told me it is the same when he cracks my neck during my adjustments. And that it does not cause any harm.
I've done it all my life. My hands are fine :)
it wont hurt her hands, its just releasing gas from the pocket near the knuckles, but im sure its frustrating. Maybe take a mommy-daughter yoga class. Im going to do that with my daughter(who bites her lip too much). We both have anxiety and i read that yoga helps with calming and centering.
It shouldn't hurt her. My whole family cracks and pops. I try not to do it in front of people that are annoyed by it, but it makes my joints feel better to pop them.
I've heard it can cause arthritis later in life but who knows if that's really true?
Funny how kids come by these silly quirks. I caught my four year-old biting her toenails. She constantly bites her fingernails but this time she was chewing on her toes. I said "why are you chewing on your toes?!" She said, "Well, I didn't have anything left on my fingers!"
I'm pretty sure the cracking won't harm her hands. I crack my knuckles, and I've looked this up, because my mom always told me to stop!... It's harmless.
I would be a little concerned about the anxiety, but not TOO concerned. As you said, it's just a nervous habit. Maybe just keep drawing her attention to it and encourage her to stop. (Sorry, that's not much of a suggestion!)
Good luck.
I've been popping my knuckles, hips, back, neck, elbows, and ankles as long as I can remember. I still haven't felt ill effects from it and I'm in my 30's.
Also, I'm probably the only non-anxious person in my family.
I do it ... my hands feel better after doing it ... I do my toes too!
My 17 year old Alex pulls all of her joints and pops them because she gets stiff. I would recommend getting serious about stopping this. Both Alex and her uncle (early 40s) have been doing this all their life, and when either of them stand up after a while of sitting, you can hear their whole back pop. Alex also has spinal problems, and we didn't figure that out till she was 11.
But yes, it probably is a nervouse habit. Alex has severe anxieties, and will continue to try to pop her fingers even after they've popped because she gets so bad.
Also, watch for anger issues too. They've connected anxiety to anger disorders, and Alex has stress fractures well up to her shoulder in her right arm from punching walls/doors when she gets to a certain point of anger/anxiety
JAMA came out with a report citing no correlation between knuckle cracking and arthritis. She'll be fine physically. She may need another outlet to keep her busy. I liked Amanda's suggestion for yoga. 9 years old is not too young for self control and calming techniques.
Good luck
