What is the Cracking Sound During Chiropractic Adjustments?
Crack! Dr Golab has just pushed on your mid back as part of the adjustment and you hear a crack. Then he adjusts your neck, and crack again! It makes you wonder what is the cracking sound during chiropractic adjustments? Well, naturally, if you ask Dr Golab during your adjustment, he will be happy to tell you. And it might not be what you think it is.
Understanding the Cracks - Is it Really Bones Crunching?
The simple answer is this. It is gas bubbles that form that are being compressed by the adjustment that essenitally pop due to these extreme pressures.
An example might be when you crack your fingers. Sounds like it's your joints that are cracking, doesn't it? Well that's what most people think, and it's pretty reasonable to think that.
But consider once you've cracked your fingers, how long it takes before you can crack them again. That's because it takes time for new gas bubbles to form.
And it's the same in your back and neck while being adjusted.
Why Does this Happen?
The main components of a joint are as follows:
1. You have your two bones close together.
2. You have a smooth surface which allows these joints to move. This is the cartledge.
3. You have a liquid that goes between the cartledge. This is known as synovial fluid or joint fluid.
4. Around this you have the joint capsule which holds everything together.
5. Finally the ligament which is holding everything tightly in place so it doesn't come apart.
So during a chiropractic adjustment, all chiropractors are looking to decompress joints. Decompression helps to release any nerves, it helps to reduce friction and resultant inflammation (which causes pain) and to essentially realign or reset the joints as they should be sitting.
As the adjustment occurs, the joints are separated slightly. This creates a negative pressure (a vacuum), which draws out the gas from the joint fluid, creating a cavity. This extraction of gas is what causes the popping sound.
It's a similar effect to pulling a rubber sucker off of a desk for example. It makes a popping sound.
So it's nothing to be fearful of, especially if you've seen many adjustments online, YouTube and the like which contains many chiropractors highlighting cracks and pops on their videos.
This cracking sound doesn't hurt and it's not dangerous, it's simply the sound of the gas escaping at high velocity creating a negative pressure. There's no joints being cracked together at all as you may think.
We hope this answers the question of what is the cracking sound during chiropractic adjustments.
So if you are in pain, are struggling with back or neck issues, walk in and see us. We're open for chiropractic Monday through Fridays and massage & cryotherapy Mondays through Saturdays. Three great treatment protocols designed to help you out of pain and back to proper function.
Freeze, squeez and crack!
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Chiropractic
