My initial reaction to this was, "Wait, didn't we know this already?" The key to the story is somewhat buried:

> The bubbles then stick around for about 20 to 30 minutes, and you won’t be able to crack your knuckles again until they are gone — a sure sign that the sound is not caused by bursting bubbles, as was the leading hypothesis for many years.

This is literally in the first paragraph of the story:

> The staccato pop of a cracked knuckle might sound like a balloon bursting — but it’s actually triggered by the formation of gas bubbles, rather than their disappearance.

Huh, that got cut off in the reader view I was using. Thanks.

> The bubbles then stick around for about 20 to 30 minutes, and you won’t be able to crack your knuckles again until they are gone

I take it this crack isn't the same as my ankle's sometimes clicking with every step I take then. I can continuously produce that noise whilst simply walking on some occasions, although I have no idea what causes it.

I can do it in my right foot by rotating it in a circular motion. If I do it for more than a few rotations it becomes sore, and I'm pretty sure it's tendons snapping.

Not sure if a chiropractor counts as a legit source or not, but that's what mine said when I asked. If you can do it continually like that it's tendons.

Those can also be tendons snapping over tissues.

Can cracking be a sign of cartilage demage? Many of my joints have been increasingly more cracking and creaking in the last about 10 years.

I love to crack my knuckles so what I want to know is if my parents/grandparents are correct in that it will give me trouble later in life? So far everything I have look into has shown me there is no real evidence of knuckle cracking and things like arthritis but is there any more up to date studies on this?

Nope

>“For 50 years, the author cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day, leaving those on the right as a control...“there is no apparent relationship between knuckle cracking and the subsequent development of arthritis of the fingers.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/crack-research/

Yeah I know that story. One guy isn't enough to convince my parents though. Has there been any study into it?

Now that's dedication.

"Boutin’s team looked inside the hands of 40 people, ranging from those who never cracked their knuckles to those who had done it 20 times a day for 40 years. When hand injury experts examined them before and after cracking, they found no difference between the two groups, suggesting that knuckle cracking does not put your joints in any immediate danger."

This is what I suspect for a normal, average cracker like myself. I don't do it every 5 minutes like some but maybe 5 or 6 times a day. I am 31 now and have been doing it for at least 20 years now and don't notice any issues with my hands. Maybe in another 20 I will regret it. Then again I think I will regret many other things more in 20 years time ;)