I used to crack my neck in Bio Class in high school (still crack everything all the time, including elbows!) and my teachers only words of advice were dont crack it anymore than you can by turning it naturally. Meaning jsut move it to one side then the other, dont use your hands to push it to crack.

I guess this holds true for you back, do it naturally yourself. Dont lean over a chair or have a friend crack it, to be on the safe side. I crack my girlfirends upper back by hugging her and putting pressure right on the spine (on the top between the shoulder blades, no lower than the shulder blades). Just a little squeeze and it pops, move my hands down a little and another pop. Move my hands down a lot and grab her ass for good measure!!!

TO CRACK YOUR BACK:
Sit down on the floor.
Put one leg (left leg) over the other (right leg). bending at the knee( the left leg) with that left foot placed flat on the ground next to the right leg (foot should be on outside of knee).
Twist upper body to the left so right elbow comes to touch the left knee.
Turn and push with elbow( on the knee used for leverage), away from knee (turning left) and the lower back will crack.
Repeat the opposite way.

 

Ballistic stretching is suppsed to be bad for you, it might follow that this type of movement to crack your back is alos bad. Slower controlled movements are better than rapid, less controlled movements.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ninethreeeleven

...

TO CRACK YOUR BACK:
Sit down on the floor.

 

I'm another one of those people who can crack every joint in their body at virtually any time. When I get up in the morning it's a veritable symphony of snap, crackle, pop! Been like this since I was, like, 6 years old. I'm 39 now and still have full mobility, so I tend to agree with the folks who claim no ill effects from it.

I crack my neck as advised above; just move it left and right. Don't force it. A friend of mine, however, used to crack his neck by making a big show of grabbing the top of his head and his chin and twisting, all to the sound of one loooooong "CRAAAAAAACK!"

I tried to get him to follow this up by dropping to the floor like a stone, but he'd never do it. I think it would have been worth a bruise or two just for the shock value!

 

I use to have the ability to crack my sternum area. Pull your arms above your head, towards the back (i.e. the morning yawn), and push foward on your chest. One of the most satisfying cracks ever.

Until...one day. After a long drive from LA >> SF... took a 30 min nap..woke up...proceeded to go do the crack thing. It cracked, but then i buckled at the intense pain. Hurt for the entire week, but then went away. 3 months later, i caught a really bad cold, and i was rendered bedridden for 2 days. The pain was so intense...i couldn't even get the leverage to sit up in bed. I was put on naprosyn for a while... Inflammed joints, the doctor said, common injury to weight lifters. Hmm...

It's been over 6 months now, and i know i'm going to have arthritis there later...even now when the weather gets cold, it hurts. Everytime i sneeze, it cracks...and hurts.

*sigh*

 

I go to the chiropractor every week and pay $20 per visit. If I could crack it myself I'd save $80-$100 a month.

 

I can give you the long answer if you like

If you can crack your own spinal joints, it is most likely that the joints you are cracking are your "most mobile" joints and not your "least mobile" joints. i.e. it's very difficult to isolate one single stiff joint by yourself without manipulating your "loose" joints as well. Hence the need for osteos, chiros, physio etc ...

If you keep manipulating the same joint it will become more mobile over time ... and the more mobile a joint becomes the more unstable it becomes (there is a trade-off between stability and mobility - can't have both!) ... if a joint is unstable it is more likely to suffer soft-tissue injuries and degenerative change ... so in a long-winded way ... YES! you are more likely to develop arthritis, but it is not a certainty!

The cracking sound (and the technique) itself can occur for different reasons: "bubbles" in the joint fluid being "popped", joint surfaces being lifted apart (just like a "sucker dart" being pulled off a wall and the release of the vacuum), scar tissue stretching ... and for the wrong reasons, fractures and disc prolapses!

Free professional advice? If you don't need to crack it, don't! There is some research that the endorphin release (body's natural morphine) becomes addictive and what starts out as nothing, then becomes a "fix" as people tend to keep on manipulating more frequently as they do not have the same feeling of release.

Professionally, I do manipulate "mobile" joints as they can still "hinge" if problematic, but I would tend to use less force and controlled leverage.

 

Thanks for the DIY on the lower-back, but is there a DIY for cracking the upper-back/neck area?

 

I like to find a narrow doorway, place my back on one side and push against the other. Pushing high enough will get those areas between the shoulder blades and up.