“I can pop my own back”

I hear things like this every so often: “I can pop my back myself and it feels good, isn’t that the same as what you do?” Many people equate the chiropractor with “the back cracker.” Chiropractic adjustments usually do create a sound like a pop or a crack, and sometimes they do not. That sound is actually just gas rushing into a joint. When you crack your knuckles you get the same sound of gas quickly entering the knuckle.

Typically when you twist or move and you hear a crack or pop in your back you are getting some movement in the joints of your spine. The goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to increase the motion of a joint, sometimes this also creates a popping noise. The difference is which joints are moving. Chiropractors are trained to find the joints that are not moving well (essentially stuck in place) and deliver specific adjustments to increase motion in those specific joints, in a specific direction. When you stretch and pop your own back you are getting some extra motion in the joints that are already moving too much in that direction, not the joints that need to be moved.

 

Dr. Kauffman is a licensed chiropractor in Loveland, OH. He serves patients in Cincinnati and the areas of Mason Ohio, Lebanon Ohio, West Chester Ohio, and Loveland Ohio. Please call us today at 513-444-4529 for an appointment with your Loveland Ohio chiropractor, Dr. Kauffman.