ARE THERE ANY RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CRACKING YOUR OWN BACK?

If you’re feeling the need to crack your back, it’s probably because your joints are out of alignment and it’s affecting the area around them. When joint restrictions exist, it’s common that the surrounding muscles will tighten around that region, which unfortunately increases the stiffness. Back cracking isn’t particularly risky — if it’s done by a professional, that is. The greatest risk is with people that crack their spines too much on their own can create hypermobility of the joints, which could lead to increased pain and predispose them to increased vulnerability at those joints. When a non-trained person assists in cracking a friend’s back, they can [pull, push, or twist] too hard, leading to a muscle injury such as a sprain. And then there’s the popular “solution” of asking someone to stand or walk on your back to crack it: It’s too much weight focused in a small area of the body, which can lead to back muscle injury, spine fractures, or abdominal or pelvic organ injury.