So... What exactly is the "pop"?

First, not all pops are created equal!  Sometimes we’ll crack our knuckles, or if we squat down our hips or knees will crack.  These types of “pops” are typically tendons snapping over a bony structure which causes a noise.  If this is happening, it is usually painless and able to recur on demand.  Ask your doctor how to reduce the frequency of this occurrence!

When someone receives an adjustment from a Chiropractor, they will also typically hear a “pop”. This noise comes from what’s called a cavitation which is rapid gas release and exchange within a joint. These “pops” will only happen once in about every 20 minutes or so when the gas perfuses back into the joint space. When you are receiving an adjustment, the Chiropractor is freeing up movement that is restricted within a joint or series of joints. The adjustment happens within what is called the paraphysiological space.

—Active range of motion: How far you can move your joints on your own (looking over your shoulder).

—Passive range of motion: How far your joints can move with assistance. (You’re relaxed, someone turns your head for you).

Let’s say you woke up on your stomach after a long night of sleep.  You obviously cannot breathe with your face square in the middle of the pillow, so you have to turn your head to the side.  Well, your neck has now been fully rotated to the right or left for 6-8 hours.  Since they have been in that position for so long, the joint capsule and tissues surrounding it restrict that joint from moving as much as it should.  This is where a Chiropractor comes in.  They will identify the restricted segment, and adjust it which takes the joint into the paraphysiological space, cavitates, resets the mechanoreceptors (which tell the joint where it is in space) and now you can move your neck easier and without as much pain! 

“I have my dog walk on my back and cause it to pop, is that doing the same thing?”  

-Nope! When you willy nilly “pop” regions of your spine, it most likely is relieving for a certain period of time. It just simply isn’t doing what you want it to do. When you feel as though you need to “pop” something, it’s because there is a joint restriction within that area. When you bend over backward over a chair, or have someone walk on your back they are “popping” areas that may not be the spot that need to be released and that “stuck” or painful feeling will come back rather quickly.

Imagine these two circled areas are where you feel like you want to “pop”.  You twist to the side and feel some cracks.  Those cracks you felt were not the joints that needed to be released because – you guessed it – they’re restricted!  The “pops” most likely came from the joints above or below the “stuck” area.  In order for these restricted joints to move as they should, a trained professional (i.e. Chiropractor) will need to step in to specifically manipulate those spots.  

To sum up, when you receive a Chiropractic adjustment or manipulation, your bones are not being smashed together or ”cracked”. The joints within the area of adjustment are being moved and freed from restriction which leads to a cavitation – the “popping” sound!

-Dr. Mat Mancuso