6 Arthritic Knuckles
The Myth: Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis in later life
The cracking sound in the knuckles is caused by the bones moving apart and forming a gas bubble - the sound is the bubble bursting. It is quite common to hear someone warning a knuckle-cracker that they will get arthritis, but the worst that can happen to a compulsive-cracker is that their finger joints may weaken over time. Arthritis is caused by a variety of things (such as crystal formations in the case of gout) - but knuckle cracking isn’t one of them.
There are still arguments and theories all over the place about the reason for the sound and whatnot, though the bubbles theory is most commonly accepted.
However, there is evidence proving and disproving the links to arthritis. So, they don't really know.
(My mum still shouts at me for it though.)
3 Back Pain
The Myth: Back pain should be treated with bed rest
The opposite is actually true in this case. Bed rest can prevent the lower back from fully recovering - or at the very least, delay the recovery significantly. Patients who continue to engage in ordinary activities recover faster and usually have fewer problems with recurring pain and other back troubles. Interestingly, many studies have shown that this is not just true of back problems, but also many other medical problems. Thirty-nine independent studies found bed rest to be more harmful than good in a broad range of illnesses.
Depends on the cause of back pain? Usually, for muscular pain, a few days rest followed by starting up exercise slowly is recommended.
1 Midnight Snacks
The Myth: Eating at night makes you fat
Secret snackers rejoice! This is a complete myth. It doesn’t matter what time of day you eat, as long as you eat only the total calories that you burn each day, you will not gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight, and if you eat more calories, you will gain. It is as simple as that. Having said that, the routine of three meals a day at the same time each day can have other benefits in life (routine is good and it helps humans work more effectively), but snacks at night are no worse than snacks in the morning or afternoon.
But it does affect your sleep. Eating late at night is linked to repeated waking. Apparently.
That is all.
