Question
I was just wondering because everytime I'm at school I crack my back while sitting in my desk.  I don't know if its safe or would I accidentally cause myself injuries in my back?

Answer
Dear Vince,

Thank you for your question about cracking noises from the area of the back.  Your question is similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  Unfortunately, though, it is based on some misconceptions.  In order to answer you properly, I'll 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.

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 reliably revealed by clicking noises, as in your question, though the two may exist together.  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 being born, strenuous physical activity, sleeping posture and mattress condition, sneezing, falling down, even such seemingly insignificant movements as twisting of the trunk, as you describe, 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.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to what may cause the clicking you describe in your question or if it may be related to a vertebral subluxation.  Even if it were possible to guess at what may be causing the noises, it is not pertinent to the matter of whether you will benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person's 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 through a procedure called 揳djustment.? This is not the same as manipulation.  

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 back, it's 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.

A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone who experiences the cracking you describe 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.  

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 I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

Though it is quite common for their to be audible cracking noises, pops or clicks during the course of joint movements, whether random movement, as you may be causing, or specific movement, as would occur during a chiropractic adjustments, it is impossible to tell you exactly why these noises are occurring for you 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, 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.  Yes, there are times during the process of effecting chiropractic adjustments that incidental, harmless noises may be heard, though it is not certain that yours are happening for this reason.  There are also many variables that go into determining the noisiness, so it is difficult or impossible to predict.  In addition, noise is not the measure of corrective potential of an adjustment procedure.  The only way to know whether an adjustment takes place is for there to be a post-check analysis of your spine for vertebral subluxations.   

If you have any further concerns, please contact me at this site again or directly at [email protected].  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic organizations on a state level in New Jersey.

Vince, 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.