Do Chiropractors Crack Your Back?
You have probably heard that chiropractic care primarily focuses on the vertebrae of the spine and that when you’re getting adjusted, a chiropractor might ‘crack your back’. That’s not exactly what happens, and it’s not nearly as painful as it sounds. The popping noise that you might hear during a spinal adjustment is perfectly normal and not caused by any action of the bones in your back.
What causes the popping sound?
The situation which sounds like your back is being cracked is a popping noise that occurs as your back is undergoing stretching of the spinal facet joint. The fluid around joints contains pockets of air bubbles. Whenever any of these joints stretch during chiropractic care, it’s common for them to make a popping sound, which is what you hear. When this does happen, you should immediately feel greater flexibility in your back. The related muscles will probably still be tight and somewhat sore.
Additional chiropractic care
Beyond spinal manipulation, your chiropractor may also employ some muscle therapy to relieve soreness on tissues that have been affected by spinal misalignment. Your chiropractor may also recommend some at-home exercises you can do for preventive care to accelerate the recovery process from any injuries you’ve sustained. You might also be given some tips on how to bend and lift heavy objects properly, or how you can take better care of your spine with good posture when sitting at a desk for your job.
Your chiropractor will attempt to educate you about the best principles of spinal care so that you can avoid a great many potential injuries. By teaching you how to minimize wear and tear on your spinal discs, as well as your joints. You can maintain much better spinal health if you follow these principles of good posture and healthy movement, which will protect the vertebrae from further damage.
Does chiropractic care handle everything?
While chiropractic care can be remarkable at what it can achieve, there are, of course, some situations where surgery or medication might be necessary. For instance, if you have broken a bone somewhere in your body, you will likely need surgery to repair the break and promote healing after setting the bone. This repair is outside the realm of chiropractic care, which does not involve surgeries of any kind.
Instead, it relies on gentle spinal manipulation to recover from misalignments which are often felt as pain, because of the pressure they exert on surrounding nerves and tissue. However, the vast majority of issues that cause pain in your back and some of the other joints around your body can be helped immensely by routine chiropractic care. And remember – don’t be alarmed when you hear a popping sound during chiropractic treatment. Your chiropractor is not cracking your back but simply allowing air bubbles to escape during spinal manipulation.
If you are feeling pain come in a get a FREE initial consultation. We can evaluate your pains and recommend a treatment plan which may include “cracking your back”.
