Expert: Dr. Peter Carr - 9/23/2009

Question
For about a year now my neck keeps wanting to catch and when I move my neck to unhook it, it cracks and hurts for a few minutes.  Also when I walk, I can hear my neck and my back vertebras cracking.  It doesn't hurt, but makes a lot of noise in my head and even once my husband heard the noise.  Do you know what this might be and what type of doctor I should see?  Thank you

Answer
Erika;

The cracking you hear in your neck is called "crepitus"... I always liked that word because it's essentially an example of onomatopoeia... it sounds like the thing it is.  Call me a nerd.

The usual explanation for this is that there is a lot of motion going on in your neck.   Often this is due to the bones below not working the way they should, either because of scar tissue, muscle imbalance or some other reason, forcing the bones that crack a lot to do more work on a  compensatory basis.

I see this every day in my office, and fix it all the time, to the point of it being boring.  Go see a chiropractor for this.   Initially you may notice MORE cracking, but it should settle down in time.  Hope this answer helps.

Dr. Peter Carr
Seattle, Washington
www.dynamicclinic.com