Dear Alice,
I just was diagnosed with minor scoliosis. I am 38 years old (today!). I do yoga and while at a retreat, was told by the instructor that it looked like I had a little scoliosis on the right side. I crack my back, neck, and so on. I mainly do this on my right side (the side I have minor scoliosis). I feel very tight if I don't do it, and feel better afterwards, but I just know it's wrong. I don't know if my cracking my back is worse with this problem, or if I do it because of this problem. I have tried to stop, but even when I stop for a short period of time (month), my right shoulder 'pops' (not snaps or cracks like when I do it intentionally while doing certain activities, like push ups or bench press (and it will happen over and over). This also occurs on my right hip when I do things, such as leg lifts. What do you think? Will this possibly go away if I stop or are they not related?
Dear Reader,
Depending on the cause, spinal crepitus can be: Crepitus by cavitation: 1, 2 An audible pop or crack, which may occur during normal movement or when the spine is moved near its end range of motion. Cavitation can occur naturally with exercise or motion and can be induced by a health professional, such as a chiropractor, or osteopathic physician. Cracking sound in neck can also occur when the stuck ligament to the bony projection of vertebra become lose with any neck movement. Osteoarthritis of cervical vertebra can produce cracking sound when the neck moves. It usually develops after the age of 50.
That cracking and poppin’ got you stopping to think about what might be going on? It's possible that feeling the need to crack your neck and back is due to scoliosis. Scoliosis is a type of bend in the spine that most often affects adolescents when they have growth spurts, but may affect adults as well. Generally, a person's spine is curved slightly from front to back — in other words, if you look at someone from the side, their spine doesn’t go straight up and down but will somewhat arch outwards below the shoulder blades then back inwards at the lower back. Sometimes the spine also curves from left to right, so if you looked at a person's skeleton head-on, you would see the backbone curve to one side as well — this bend is scoliosis. While the specific cause is unknown, the condition appears to run in families. However, because each person's case is different, it’s difficult to say whether or not scoliosis is the cause of your cracking and popping. In any case, it's unclear whether or not you were diagnosed by a health care provider, but speaking with one about a diagnosis and treatment options may be a good first step.
According to Mayo Clinic, signs of scoliosis include:
- Uneven shoulders or waist
- Prominent shoulder blade
- Leaning to one side
- One hip higher than the other
Scoliosis in adults may be caused by a missed adolescent scoliosis diagnosis that has progressed or a degenerative disease, such as arthritis. There are both operative and non-operative treatment options, although most adults are able to control the symptoms of scoliosis with observation from a health care provider, exercises that strengthen the back, back braces, over-the-counter pain medications, or, for severe pain, nerve blocking injections.
In case you haven’t been evaluated by a medical professional, you may want to consider talking with your health care provider to make sure that this is what's causing the troubles on your right side. Using a physical exam, X-ray, or magnetic resonance image (MRI), your provider will be able to determine whether or not you have scoliosis, and may be able to offer some explanations for the cracking and popping on your right side.
As for the neck and back cracking, the sound you hear is the fluid in the joints becoming gas, which makes that popping sound. The fluid becomes gas because the movement that's done in order to crack the area stretches the capsules around the joint, increasing the elasticity and decreasing the pressure on the joint. For those without scoliosis, this process is typically low risk. However, when someone has minor scoliosis, the effects of cracking their back are individual, and it's difficult to predict whether it'll be helpful or harmful in the long-term. It may be risky, though, if done in an incorrect or forceful manner, and the effects also depends on severity of the pre-existing scoliosis.
In fact, people who feel like they need to crack their neck or back from that “tightness” you refer to, Reader, usually have some sort of pre-existing condition like scoliosis. All that to say, it may be that the scoliosis is causing the symptoms and not the other way around. However, those who have scoliosis may exacerbate their pain and the condition if they’re cracking their neck and back in a way that isn't properly adjusting their neck and spine. This is especially true when the neck and back cracking:
- Is accompanied by pain
- Causes dizziness or nausea
- Is consistent (this is a sign of a restrictive joint)
- Is post-surgery or post-accident
To reiterate, there’s no evidence that back and neck cracking themselves cause scoliosis, and they may, in fact, be a symptom of the condition. Your health care provider can offer more information about scoliosis, or provide effective and low-risk treatments to help you feel more relaxed. In fact, many effective ways to relieve back and body tension don't involve cracking: massage, meditation, or regular stretching could be helpful, as could continuing with your yoga practice.
Here's to hoping some of these strategies 'pop' for you!
Alice!
Crepitus or crepitation is the noise that may be heard during joint movements, such as a cracking, popping, snapping, or grinding. These sounds and sensations can occur in the neck as well. Most people at some point have experienced neck crepitus. One example is feeling a cracking sensation in the neck when turning the head to back up a car.
Neck crepitus is usually painless and typically does not represent anything serious. However, if crepitus occurs with other troubling symptoms such as pain or following trauma, it could indicate a more serious underlying medical condition is present.
Neck Anatomy Involved in Cracking Sounds
The facet joints in the neck are where the back of adjacent vertebrae join together. There is a smooth surface on the end of each bone called cartilage. Inside the facet joint is synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints. At the front of the adjacent vertebrae is another connection called the intervertebral disc space. Neck crepitus is thought to occur when structures in the spine rub together and make sounds.
Watch Cervical Vertebrae Anatomy Animation
Some likely causes of neck crepitus include:
- Articular pressure changes. Tiny gas bubbles can form and eventually collapse within synovial joints, be released and then create the popping sounds, such as in the neck’s facet joints. These are the sounds that are heard when people crack their finger knuckles, which is not harmful. These joint-cracking sounds can happen during natural movement or during manipulations of the spine in physical therapy or by a chiropractor. The medical literature had been conflicted in recent years as to whether these sounds are created by the gas bubbles being created or collapsed. Most in the medical community believe that the sounds are from the bubbles collapsing, but it has yet to be proven conclusively.1-3
- Ligament or tendon moving around bone. Ligaments and tendons both attach to bones. In some cases, it may be possible for a moving ligament or tendon to make a snapping sound as it moves around a bone and/or over each other. This can occur because our muscles and tissues are too tight or because they become less elastic as we age.
See Neck Muscles and Other Soft Tissues
- Bone-on-bone grinding. As facet joints degenerate due to osteoarthritis, the protective cartilage wears down and adjacent vertebral bones can start rubbing against each other, which may cause a grinding noise or sensation. This grinding can also occur due to disc degeneration resulting in less cushioning between the vertebrae.
See Neck Pain Causes
Neck crepitus is thought to occur when structures in the spine rub together and make sounds. One suggested cause of neck crepitus is the formation and collapse of tiny gas bubbles, caused by pressure changes within the joint.
Neck crepitus could be caused by any of these factors, or in some cases it could be a combination of these or other factors. It should also be noted that crepitus can occur in any moveable joint in the body (with common examples including the knees and shoulders).
Read What Is Crepitus? on Arthritis-health.com
How Neck Crepitus Feels
While neck crepitus is commonly painless, it can also be accompanied by various degrees of neck stiffness or neck pain, ranging from dull aches to sharp pains.
See Types of Neck Pain
People who have some degree of pain with neck crepitus may be at a higher risk for having negative thoughts and stress associated with their neck’s cracking and grinding sounds. These negative thoughts might cause people to unnecessarily alter behaviors or worry that the neck has serious structural damage even when it does not. A study that looked at people with painful knee crepitus found that the participants had more worries that their knee-cracking sounds indicated premature aging, and they were also more likely to try to modify movements to avoid making the sounds.4 Similar results might hold true for people with neck pain and crepitus.
The Course of Neck Crepitus
Neck crepitus can occur at any age, but it is more likely to occur as a person gets older. The frequency of neck cracking and grinding sounds can vary greatly. Some people might experience neck crepitus a few times a month, whereas others might experience it every day or even throughout the day with most neck movements.
Neck crepitus may go through some periods where it occurs more often than others. For example, neck cracking and grinding might occur frequently for a few days and then go away. In cases where neck crepitus is the result of bone-on-bone grinding due to facet joint osteoarthritis, the neck cracking and grinding sounds are more likely to occur frequently with movements and not go away.
See Cervical Facet Osteoarthritis Video
While increased neck cracking and grinding sounds can occur with arthritis, there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest that frequent neck cracking can lead to arthritis. As we age, the sounds tend to move from louder and more pronounced cracks to more grinding or crunching sensations.
When Neck Crepitus Is Serious
If neck cracking or grinding is accompanied by pain, stiffness, or other concerning symptoms, it may indicate an underlying medical condition that needs to be checked by a qualified health professional.
Spine Cracking With Movement
References
- 1.Unsworth A, Dowson D, Wright V. ‘Cracking joints’ A bioengineering study of cavitation in the metacarpophalangeal joint. Ann Rheum Dis. 1971; 30: 348-358.
- 2.Kawchuk GN, Fryer J, Jaremko JL, Zeng H, Rowe L, Thompson R. Real-time visualization of joint cavitation. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(4):e0119470
- 3.Chandran suja V, Barakat AI. A Mathematical Model for the Sounds Produced by Knuckle Cracking. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):4600
- 4.Robertson CJ, Hurley M, Jones F. People's beliefs about the meaning of crepitus in patellofemoral pain and the impact of these beliefs on their behaviour: A qualitative study. Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2017;28:59-64.