The DU Lounge

Somewhat like the way a sneeze or tic can sometimes be temporarily stifled, eventually the pain and discomfort builds to where it's basically torture to avoid it.

Once I did an experiment of really avoiding any voluntary cracking. The discomfort aside, eventually my knuckles would crack on their own when I least expected it. Even just putting away the dishes, and I would nearly lose my grip as my fingers would move in a way I wasn't expecting.

I concluded that just avoiding cracking is no cure, the best I could do was to try to avoid doing it right in front of someone who doesn't like it, much as I turn my head when I sneeze.

My mother has the same issue, the joints are just subject to cracking. She loves playing the piano and has to crack her fingers before she plays to keep it from happening while playing as that ruins the piece for her.

It's not well studied, but imho, it's more of a medical condition than a bad habit. At least for some of us knuckle-crackers....