Nothing breaks, splinters, or cracks when you “crack” your back. It is called crepitus in medical terms. You or a professional, like a chiropractor or other joint and spine specialist or massage therapists of Ashiatsu Massage London, can move or “adjust” your spine.

When the back “cracks,” what happens?

Most people think that changing a joint makes gas come out, but not that kind of gas.

Many analysts think that the following is happening:

When you arch your back, the soft capsules around the facet joints outside the vertebrae stretch.
By stretching these capsules and letting the synovial fluid flow more freely, you can move your facet joints and take pressure off the joints and muscles in your back.
The synovial fluid turns into a gas when the pressure is taken off a joint. This is what makes the cracking, popping, or snapping sound. This quick change from one state to another is called boiling or cavitation.

Extra pressure and gas:

Gas is another option. Some doctors think that gasses like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen can build up between your joints over time, especially if you have bad posture and spend a lot of time sitting or hunching over. The gas comes out when you move in certain ways or stretch your joints.

Why does it feel good?

Many think the pressure relief from back adjustments makes them feel so good. Endorphins are released when the back is broken, and the back is put back together. When you break a joint, your body releases endorphins, hormones that relieve pain. These hormones can make you feel very happy.

But there may be another process going on here that has more to do with the mind than with the body. Think of the sound of your back cracking as a good thing, especially if a trained chiropractor is doing it.

How dangerous is it?

Before we go any further, remember that adjusting your back, whether you do it yourself or have a professional do it, shouldn’t cause you much pain.

If you strain yourself too much or aren’t used to it, having your joints moved by a chiropractor could be painful. But the pain shouldn’t be sharp, searing, or too much to handle. So let Ashiatsu Massage London adjust your back.

Here are some things that could go wrong if you don’t adjust your back correctly:

You can pinch nerves in or near your spine if you crack your back too hard or too quickly. Pinched nerves can cause pain and a lot. Some pinched nerves may continue to hurt, making it hard to move until a specialist finds them and treats them.
When you crack your back hard, you can strain or tear the muscles inside and around it, especially the muscles in your hips and neck at the top and bottom of your spine. Moving can be painful or hard when your muscles are strained.
If you crack your back too hard or too often, it could hurt your blood vessels. This could be dangerous because there are many important blood vessels in your back, and many of them go to your brain. Blood clots can happen as a side effect, which can cause strokes, aneurysms, or other damage to the brain.
Even though you don’t have to hear a cracking sound for a spinal adjustment to work, you usually feel like you’ve let go of some stress, tightness, or pain when you feel your back crack.

Back cracking is harmless and may even help you relax and increase your range of motion. But if you deal with and treat the underlying back problems, you might not want to crack your back as much.