"I don't need a chiropractor, I crack my own..."

Hi!

I hear this all of the time “I just crack my own x,y,z.” I get it, I used to do it to my knuckles all of the time until my mentor educated me on the topic in school.  I am going to explain why “cracking” a joint on your own is not the best option for you.

The reason you feel the need to “crack” a joint is because your brain is receiving messages from your spine that something is wrong. That something is a subluxation, a dysfunction of the spine that negatively affects the nerve system.  This area is not properly moving  thus making areas above and below compensate by moving more and becoming hyper-mobile. So when you “crack” your own neck/back you are actually making hyper-mobile joints move and release endorphins. You don’t actually move the joint that is causing the problem. By doing this you also are wearing out your joints faster than you would by not self manipulating.

The brain will continue to receive information from the spine that something is wrong(you still have a subluxation), this is why you also may feel like you need to manipulate your neck/back again after about 20 minutes. This is the very reason you need to be checked and adjusted by a trained chiropractor so they can locate the specific area and adjust. My hope is that you will think twice about this information the next time you go to “crack” you neck and back.

-Dr. C