Expert: J.R. Strecker, B.S., D.C. - 2/22/2008

Question
hi there, when i get a back massage on my upper back every few seconds i will take a deep breathe, which results in a sound coming from my muscles, it can soud loud like a neck popping, or small little pops after doing so a few times. also my neck and lower back "lock up" feeling uncomfortable with the urge to crack. this does so MANY times a day. what is the muscle popping? there are no lumps and i have no previous injuries but my whole body seems to alway need to crack. neck, back, muscles, fingers, knees and toes, all at the age of 22. female. any info would be highley appreciated. thank you!

Answer
Hello C.,

First off, thanks for trusting me with your health, but as a disclaimer, please do not take any recommendations or my advice without at least seeing a licensed doctor first.

With that said, there are a variety of possibilities causing your urge to “crack.”  It is a very commonly asked question patients ask chiropractors.  And, unfortunately, there isn’t always a clear answer as to the cause in certain situations.  However, sometimes certain areas of the body will crack for known reasons.  I think one of the most commonly accepted reasons why joints crack is from nitrogenous gases releasing that can build up in the joints or connective tissue.  However, this is still debated, so who really knows?  But some of the known reasons can be hypermobility, scar tissue, degeneration, tendons snapping, or joint subluxation.

Given your young age, I think a likely guess would be joint hypermobility or connective tissue laxity.  For example, it’s not so likely that your cracking sounds are the result of premature degeneration (arthritis) at your age with no history of trauma, though it is technically possible.  Joint hypermobility can be something someone is born with.  For whatever reason, a person can be born with a trait that makes his/her connective tissues a little less taut than others.  I’m one of these people, and you can bet you’ll hear lots of cracking sounds coming from me as well.  The most important thing you can do is have a personal trainer or chiropractor go over some stabilization exercises with you if this is your case.  Stabilizing joints that are hypermobile by having the right muscle balance and tone is one of the best things to do.  Also, ligaments need vitamin C to heal properly, so if there is some pathological laxity to your ligamentous tissue, you should consider taking 1,000 mg of Vitamin C daily (not to mention for the other endless benefits of C), but don’t be surprised if the cracking continues.

Another good example of cracking sounds can be found in my own wrist.  I have a tight forearm tendon that overlies one of my carpal bones.  Every time I move my wrist in a certain position, the underlying carpal bone will rub under the tendon and snap the tendon, as if it is a guitar player’s finger strumming a guitar.  Another example of this is in runners with an anatomical short leg can develop this in their hips, called a Tensor Fasciae Latae (TFL) Snap.

Any sort of aberrant joint function or subluxation can cause the joints of your body to move improperly causing a grinding or clicking sound.  A chiropractor can usually clean these popping sounds up after about 3-6 adjustments.  After restoring proper function and mobility to the joint, the clicking or popping sounds will subside.

And lastly, there are anatomical differences from patient to patient.  I believe a lot of it is due to the ligamentous laxity of joints that varies widely from person to person.  For example, I can have some patients that require a moderate to significant thrust to adjust their spines to achieve a popping sound while others only require a tiny push to do this.  It just varies patient to patient, and there is no way for me to know until I go to adjust the patient.  Just realize your question is a very common question and concern patients have, and the varying degrees of some people popping more than others is extremely wide-ranging with no clear understanding of why this is so.

I hope this helps a bit.

Dr. J.R. Strecker, D.C.