Can I click my own back?


Most people will quite often hear clicks in the neck and back when they're not even trying to click it. A lot of people stretch out their back trying to get a click, especially if they feel sore or restricted. The click can feel great, as well as the stretch itself feeling good. The big question is: to what lengths should you go to to click your neck or back?

First of all, let’s describe the “click”. The click or loud pop you get when you move your neck or crack your knuckle happens when you take one of your joints through the paraphysiological space of the joint. It is actually a release of carbon dioxide from the synovial fluid. It is not a good thing or bad thing on its own, necessarily. 

There are other ways your body can clunk, such as when an inflamed tendon rubs over a bony prominence. But this article will focus on the audible release of synovial joint (the click). 

The click you get from your own body can be good for you, but not always. Intentional clicking of your back and neck should be left up to professionals such as chiropractors for the following reasons:

  1. It's not a simple thing this spine of yours. A chiropractors’ education is 5-years full-time. The spine is robust in some ways yet fragile in other ways. Knowing when not to adjust is just as important as knowing what needs adjusting.

  2. When you click your back there is a possibility of creating a micro-jarring effect that can cause inflammation of the joint and irritation to the spinal nerves.

  3. The area that hurts is not necessarily the area of dysfunction that needs to be corrected. Chiropractors are trained to find the areas of spinal dysfunction, through checking for joint play, muscle tone, inflammation around the joint, among other things.

Our rule of thumb is that if you get a click by gently stretching a joint without pushing or pulling it then that is OK. However, it’s not OK to intentionally click your neck or back, especially if:

  1. It hurts when you do it.

  2. You need to use another body part, eg pulling or pushing your head to one side with your hand.

  3. You need to get someone else to assist you.

If you have neck or back pain or stiffness, or you feel like you need a click, that can be a sign that you have vertebral dysfunction. in which case it would be a good idea to visit a chiropractor for their professional opinion, rather than playing the do-it-yourself version of healthcare.