Question
I injured my neck three times while playing football.  A doctor told me at the time I had nerve paralysis in the back of my neck.  I was temporarily paralized from the chest up each time I was injured.  The duration was no more than thirty minutes and the paralysis slowly subsided and I was able to move again.  It has been twenty two years and I still have problems with my head and neck. I get a lot of tightness in my neck so I pop it and it relieves the tension.  My wife says I'm going to break my neck one day.
My question is:  When I pop my neck, what exactly is popping?  Is it bone, ligaments or something else?  Sometimes I can feel it pop in the upper side of my head.  It feels good afterward but I eventually have to do it again to relieve the tension. Should I try to stop popping my neck and look for alternative ways to help relax it?
Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Answer
Hi David,

You probably won't break your neck by popping it, but you could cause increasing looseness that makes you need to pop it more that causes more looseness, etc.  

The pop itself can be caused by several different things; most likely, it is the release of pressure between two surfaces (like when a glass with condensation sticks to a table and 'pops' when you break that tension).  Other times, you are actually hearing the soft tissues "roll" over each other...but those pops rarely relieve tension.

Sounds like you should look into other ways to relieve the tension.  Find the source of it and focus on correcting it.  It could be muscular imbalances, joints that are too loose or too tight, poor postural habits or repetitive actitivites that cause the muscles to strain, etc.  It's also possible that you still have some symptoms from your injury, or that the structures involved (ie, nerves/discs) never completely healed.  If you are unsure, consult with your physician and/or request a referral to a physical therapist for individualized guidance.

I often recommend "Treat Your Own Neck and Back" by Robin McKenzie as a great book to reference.  The McKenzie Method is used all over the world, and the book teaches good strategies for improving your spinal health.  You can probably check it out at your local library, and I'm sure online bookstores carry it.  

Best wishes!

Jenny