Question
I have been having these annoying (not painful) crackling/crunching/clicking noises at the top of my neck for several months now. The onset corresponds to seeing a chiropractor for the 1st time in many years. Incidentally he helped me with an arm/neck problem that I had been having for almost a decade - tingling up my arm to that was brought on by certain actions.

Anyway, my head literally does not feel on right. I keep moving my head around as if I will be able to just click it right once and it will all go back in place. AS I move it I hear all of these clicks. Sometimes when I tun my head it is more of a crackling/crunching noise. There is almost a grinding sensation under those bones (bottom of skull?) that are behind my ears (as opposed to being located near the spine itself)... this mainly happens on the right side. I also feel clicks there.

I have been back to the chiropractor a few times and only once was it a dramatic huge "crack" and then my head felt good w/ no clicks... but that only lasted for the day. In the evening I got stuck in traffic and it all came back. Other times he made me feel mildly better.

I also feel better in the morning.

This problem was literally not there and then there. I also had huge stress when this started and I noticed that I would bite down hard a lot.

I have been to a doctor and she said that she thinks it is arthritis and just a part of getting old, there is nothing I can do about it. She said she saw some straightening in the x-ray (she did not mention seeing actual signs of arthritis) & she said there is nothing I can do about that either.

I am waiting to hear an official report from the radiologist.

I am 36 years old. I was tested for rheumatoid arthritis last fall and I did not have it. It doesn't seem right to me that I could have no symptoms and then suddenly have arthritis.

Lately I also feel my vertebra lower in my neck snap into place, making an entirely different noise, and it feels good, even though I didn't notice it feeling "bad" prior.

The part that feels off to me is at the very top of my spine, at the bottom of my head.  The clicks are mostly on my right side, which is also the side that i had previous problems with. Incidentally I am very asymmetrical, surely due to years of favoring my left side even though I am a righty.

Do you have any ideas what is wrong with me and what can help? ... What type of doctor I should see?

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.  

Answer
Hi Jes,

You need to change both medical and chiropractic doctors. If your doctor said' "it's just arthritis and there is nothing you can do about it", then she is fired. You would have to live in a cave to not know about the research findings on glucosamine sulfate and MSM. This inexpensive OTC supplement has been proven without a doubt to stop and often reverse osteoarthritis. Take 3000mg/day and kiss the OA goodbye. Google it, there are tons of definitive research conclusions on its efficacy. Solid stuff, just take the correct dosage and your good to go.

The DC needs to use towel traction to get those difficult joints to mobilize. Some rely solely on their hands to get the job done, in my practice, using a towel under the base of the skull with traction and a light thrust will clean up any residual fixations causing weird noises.

Let me know if you need more info, good luck!

Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com