That pop is gas inside the joint. It isn’t bones grinding, and the sound itself isn’t the problem. The catch is that when you crack your own back, the joints that already move easily are the ones that move, and the stiff spot usually stays stiff. That’s why the urge comes back.
The small joints of your spine, like your knuckles, sit inside a capsule filled with fluid. When the two joint surfaces are pulled apart quickly, a small gas-filled cavity forms in that fluid, and that’s the sound you hear. A 2015 study filmed this with real-time MRI in finger knuckle joints and saw the cavity form at the moment of the crack. It’s the same pop you sometimes hear during an adjustment.
So the noise isn’t a bone going back into place, and it isn’t a sign that something has been fixed. It’s a joint separating.
The sound itself isn’t the problem. Studies of people who habitually crack their knuckles haven’t found more hand arthritis than in people who don’t, though that research is on knuckles, not the spine.
The catch is what actually moves. When you twist to crack your own back, the force goes to the joints that already move easily. The stiff segment, the one that’s making you want to crack in the first place, usually stays stiff. That’s why the urge comes back an hour later. If you’re cracking something many times a day, that’s a sign to find out what isn’t moving, not to crack it harder.
Most of the time it’s one of two things: gas shifting inside a joint, the same pop as above, or a tendon sliding over a bump of bone, which can click every time you move. If it’s painless, it’s usually just noise. If it comes with pain, dizziness, numbness or headaches, get it examined. More in is cracking your neck bad?
It’s a word chiropractors use, and it often gets explained badly. In plain terms, it’s a joint in your spine that isn’t moving the way it should, together with the muscle tension and irritation around it. It doesn’t mean a bone has popped out of place, the way a dislocation does. When we examine you, we feel how each segment moves, where it’s restricted, and how the tissue around it responds. An adjustment is a specific movement aimed at that restricted joint.
Call 911 or go to an emergency room if:
Contact a doctor right away if you have:
These lists follow MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine) guidance on neck pain and acute low back pain; see Sources below.
Come in and find out what isn’t moving. At The Shift, both doctors check how each segment of your spine moves, which spots are stiff and which are doing extra work, and explain what they find before any adjustment, with the cost in writing before you agree to anything. Read more about back pain care, neck pain care, or how care works, step by step. Which doctor should I see?
The pop itself isn’t the problem. The catch is that when you twist to crack your own back, the joints that already move easily are the ones that move, and the stiff spot usually stays stiff. That’s why the urge comes back an hour later. If you’re cracking something many times a day, or it hurts, find out what isn’t moving rather than cracking it harder.
Gas in the joint. The joints of your spine, like your knuckles, sit in a capsule of fluid. When the joint surfaces separate quickly, a small gas-filled cavity forms in that fluid, and that’s the sound. It isn’t bones grinding.
Usually one of two things: gas shifting inside a joint, the same pop you sometimes hear during an adjustment, or a tendon sliding over a bump of bone, which can click every time you move. If it’s painless, it’s usually just noise. If it comes with pain, dizziness, numbness or headaches, get it examined.
It’s a word chiropractors use for a joint in your spine that isn’t moving the way it should, together with the muscle tension and irritation around it. It doesn’t mean a bone has popped out of place, the way a dislocation does.
Apart from the studies and the urgent-care lists above, this page is our own explanation, the same thing we tell patients.
Same-day appointments are often available — a doctor is in the office six days a week. 435 8th Street #203, at 8th and Broadway.
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