Question
Six months ago I went to a chiropractor for mid-back pain.  For reasons I do not know she adjusted my neck.  I had terrible pain, arm pain and this awful noise, grinding, crackling crepitus in my neck.  I still have the noise without pain.  The sound coming from my neck is driving me crazy.  I have been to two other chiropractors with absolutely no change.  Will I have to live with this noise for the rest of my life?  Why is my neck making this noise?  Thank you,  Cindy

Answer
Dear Cindy,

First, I just received an alert that you had submitted this question a few days ago, though I have only now seen it.  I have no explanation for you as to what happened and am sorry that there was some delay ?I always seek to answer questions at this site in a timely manner.  I hope this may still be of use to you.  

Next, thank you for your question about your cracking noises.  Yours is a question somewhat similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  Unfortunately, though, it is based on some misconceptions.  In order to answer it properly, I抣l first need to give you some background on the chiropractic profession.

There are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.  It seems you may have visited this type of office.  

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  This is not at all the same as the findings of pain or noise you mention in your question, but they may exist together.  It is important that you keep this in mind in that the information in this response concerns vertebral subluxation specifically, quite different from the matters you抳e detailed.  If you are not clear on the distinctions after reading this response, please be sure to write to me again as it is critical to you getting the most out of the information.  Pay particular attention to the discussion in this response about vertebral subluxation.  

The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.  Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as traumatic injury events, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  Perhaps of more use to you, the branching of the nerve pathways is quite complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  The question of how your individual body carries out the myriad of activities just to maintain life is enormous and would require your Creator抯 (or creator抯, for the agnostic) knowledge, or at least far more than our educated knowledge of the complexities of life.

Now that you have more information about the body and vertebral subluxation, how do you make use of it?  Well, first understand that this is not an explanation of the exact nature or significance of the noises and other things you are experiencing.  Are there reasons for the various unwanted things you are experiencing?  Even though they may be beyond our ability to identify, of course, there are; but pinning them down is not relevant to the matter of whether you would benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations, whether they resulted from a particular event or any other of the many different opportunities that come from daily living.  Vertebral subluxation is, in and of itself, detrimental to optimal life.  

The only way to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation is to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.  The term for this procedure is 揳djustment.?

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

It is impossible to tell you why the noises you report are occurring or if there is cause to be concerned in this format.  I have never met you.  In addition, there are several lines of reasoning to explain how or why such noises may occur, ranging from movements of joint fluid to actual physical compromise of the joint, without universal agreement as to which is the most likely.  So, to summarize, it may be that the noises you hear are harmless or they may indicate something that needs attention.  It would be irresponsible for me or anyone else to guess about your situation in this through this type of interaction.  

All that said, a key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone who experiences cracking noises better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.  So, having one抯 spine checked for vertebral subluxation is tremendously important, but it抯 not for the purpose of dealing with mid-back symptoms or cracking noises.  In other words, non-therapeutic straight chiropractic can be of benefit to any spine-owner, but perhaps in ways that you may not have considered.  It抯 not that you should see a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor FOR your symptoms ?you should visit one in an effort to be free of vertebral subluxations, even WITH such matters in your history.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about diagnosing and/or treating noises or symptoms or any therapeutic-model or medical condition.  It is entirely separate in its goal.  

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  You need to understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What information I give you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

From the limited information in your question, it seems the chiropractor you visit is of the mixed therapeutic viewpoint in that you connect it to therapeutic attention for back pain.  It would certainly be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for your reported injury-related concerns.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.    

If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].  

Cindy, I wish you the best in understanding what non-therapeutic straight chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.