Does cracking your knuckles cause arthritis?

Still a topic of discussion, until this day there's no guaranteed answer if cracking your knuckles is harmless or not. When you crack your knuckles what happens is that you're bursting gas bubbles in the synovial fluid that cause that popping sound.

Short term answer: cracking your knuckles doesn't cause arthritis and is probably not harmful, but it can cause hand swelling and decreased grip strength over a long period of time.