Hi, thank you for your question. No, cracking your knuckles do not cause any types of arthritis. Listed below are a few common forms of arthritis and their risk factors.
Osteoarthritis occurs due to wear and tear of the joint surface.

Risk factors include old age, your sex (Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis), repeated stress on joints (people whose job puts repetitive stress on their joints are at risk ofe developing osteoarthritis), joint injury due to sports or accidents even if they seem to have healed, obesity (those extra weight can out stress on your joints, especially the hip and knee joints), bone deformity, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and haemochromatosis (too much iron in your body).

Rheumatoid arhtritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system is faulty and attacks the joints. Risk factors include your sex (Women are more likely to develop RA), age (any age from 16 onwards, although most people start developing symptoms in their 40s), family history of RA, smoking and obesity.

Psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, where immune system attacks the joints like rheumatoid arthritis. It can occur in people above the age of 16, but is more common in your 30s to 50s. Risk factors include having psoriasis and family history of psoriatic arthritis.

Gout is a painful condition that occurs as a result of accumulation of crystals in the joint. Risk factors include diet rich in purine, age (30s to 50s), sex (men are more likely to develop gout), medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or kidney disease, medications like thiazide diuretics, family history of gout, and obesity.

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