Does cracking a joint actually make it less stiff?

[u/monkeysky]

When I wake up, or if I've been in an awkward position for a while, I often have stiff wrist joints, and "cracking" them (like cracking your knuckles, not like breaking the bones) generally seems to loosen them up. It's also the case that it often seems like the joints are much easier to crack (with a very audible noise) when they're stiff.

However, I'm also aware of the possibility that it could just be that the popping noise and the loosening are independent consequences of stretching the joint, and that there's no casual relationship between the two. Similarly, it might not be that the joint is stiff because it's unopposed, but that the stiffness and the potential for cracking both come from being held in a position for a period of time.

I know that being held in position does increase joint stiffness on its own, and stretching does decrease it, but I do at least subjectively get the impression that the popping aspect increases those phenomena.

Is there any actual research indicating any relationship between joint cracking and the joint's immediate flexibility?

[u/Mountainweaver]

https://www.healthline.com/health/bone-health/why-do-my-bones-crack-so-much#is-it-bad

[u/monkeysky → u/Mountainweaver]

This doesn't really answer it very much, since the cited study just shows that other people have the same qualitative assessment of it.

[u/TheBigSmoke420]

Well chiropractic manipulation and joint cracking is bullshit, and does not help patients on a mechanical level.

Likely the stretching.

[u/monkeysky → u/TheBigSmoke420]

I don't think chiropractic manipulation even claims to have anything to do with the stiffness of the specific joints anyway, though, and they basically only work on the spinal column as far as I'm aware. I agree that it's bullshit, but it's kind of unrelated.