Is is ok to crack my own back, neck?

Is it OK to Crack it Myself?

In my San Diego chiropractic clinic, I treat many patients for neck pain, back pain and other joint pains.  A few of these patients ask me if it is OK if they crack their necks and backs by themselves.  A few of them will tell me that they have their kids or the wife walk on their back.  And a few of them are in my office because either they cracked their back or neck by themselves or they had someone else do it for them which resulted in an injury.

The funny thing about some of these people who were injured by a non-chiropractic adjustment is that they are nervous about me adjusting them for their neck pain or back pain.

The truth about cracking your own neck or back is that it is not very safe.  Usually people develop pain or stiffness in the spine because of an injury or some ongoing condition.  Chiropractors are trained to specifically diagnose and provide treatment for these conditions or injuries.

Through the course of my fifteen year career, I have seen patients who have broken vertebra by adjusting their own backs, I have seen broken ribs as a result of having someone walk on their backs, I have seen two patients who suffered mild strokes from cracking their own necks and I had one patient whose brother suffered paralysis from the chest down because his partner walked on his back resulting in a crushed vertebra and a seriously damaged spinal cord.

Some people crack their own joints daily for years without suffering obvious serious consequences.  Even these people are doing themselves a disservice.  In no normal situation should you feel as though you have to crack a specific joint every day.  Those who do crack the same joints everyday for years will develop arthritis in those joints resulting in pain, dysfunction and possibly disability.

In most cases cracking or as we chiropractors call it “adjusting” a joint is fairly easy once the skills are acquired.  However, the one of the most important things regarding the delivery of any type of health care is when not to deliver it.  In every case that I have seen when a patient was injured by a non-chiropractic adjustment, the injured patient “thought” that they knew what was wrong.

Don’t make the same mistakes.  If you need to get adjusted, go to the chiropractor!  


Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic

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