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Is it Bad to "Crack" Your Neck or Back?
This question is often asked of chiropractors because people associate the cracking or popping of one's neck or knuckles with a chiropractic adjustment. The two are not the same thing.
If a person has a desire to pop his neck or back, it's usually because an area of his spine is fixated or jammed causing another area to move too much and pop a lot (hypermobility), sometimes by itself. It's the jammed or fixated area that must be properly adjusted by a chiropractor so that the rest of the spinal column will stop being so hypermobile and noisy.
When you crack or pop your neck, you're relieving tension for a little while, but not giving yourself an adjustment. After a while, the urge to pop or crack reappears because the cause of the fixation or jammed vertebrae have not been corrected.
Old wives' tales say popping or cracking your joints will cause arthritis or make your knuckles get bigger. There isn't any research supporting that, but if tension keeps building up in the joints because of spinal imbalance, it may not be the popping or cracking that's so bad for you, but the spinal stress and imbalance causing it.
Chiropractic is Safe!
Chiropractic has not only withstood, but it has perservered many attacks over the years, and has become the second largest healing profession, second only to medical care. Why is this? The profession has been able to thrive mainly because it works! Patients get better through chiropractic care. Studies have documented the safety of chiropractic care, and also that it enjoys a very high satisfaction rate from patients. There is absolutely no study or research finding that correlates chiropractic care as a cause of any negative health issue, other than a general mild soreness from the initial start of care.
Chiropractic is Scientific!
Sophisticated diagnostic equipment and current research studies continue to indicate what chiropractors have been saying all along.... that the nervous system plays an important role in determining health and dis-ease.
Doctors of Chiropractic are Real Doctors!
Like other types of doctors, chiropractic doctors meet stringent licensing requirements, have to pass state and national boards, follow a strict code of ethics, and are approved by governmental agencies.
Do I Have to Keep Going?
Like regular dental checkups, once patients experience the value of chiropractic, many choose to continue. How long you decide to benefit from chiropractic care is always up to you.
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