Should you 'click' your back?

I had no idea what you meant for a second there… in the US we call it ‘cracking’ your back. :)

If it’s the same as like cracking your knuckles, then no, it does not do any long term damage. I believe the sound is gas being released from the synovial fluid around the joints (via the pressure you apply by twisting or cracking the fingers), most likely nitrogen. The wikipedia article contains a more eloquent explanation of this act.

I crack my joints regularly, only my fingers and ankles purposefully, but my spine does it when I do yoga. I believe there is no correlation between cracking joints and arthritis. I asked my chiropractor once and he agreed that he didn’t believe it caused long term damage.

It’s not good for you, it’s not bad for you, it just is. If you enjoy it, have fun :)

It’s bad for the bones but a great thing to have done . The sound it makes is great along with the feeling you get from it

@sandystrachan Newer reasearch says that that is a n urban legend :) It is not harmfyll, exept for the addictin to it :)

There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that cracking joints is bad for the bones. If anything, it would be bad for the joints.

I’ve had this habit since high school and wondered this myself. GQ lynneblundell!

I’ve been told by some chiropractors that you shouldn’t do it yourself…but, I think they just want to be paid to do it. I crack my back unintentionally when I stretch, most of the time. I don’t think it’s bad, I think it just happens.

@casheroo I think that’s a big part of it. :)

However…I didn’t know until recently that I had a bulging disk in my back. It’s present, but not bothersome. I mean, it’s painless right now, I never would have known. If I didn’t know, and tried to cause a pop at that location, I could cause it to become a more severe bulge or graduate it into a full-blown herniation. So while that location isn’t a problem now, I’m more protective and careful with that region and let a massage therapist or chiro do it for me.

There are also minor things that can happen, like tiny muscles that bridge from vertebrae to vertebrae, that can be pulled and cause more problems/pain than a back-cracking can fix. But for the most part, unless you’re cracking your stuff around with vigor and force, I’d say you’re fine.

@3or4monsters is your avatar doodahwhatdjamacallit from A Nightmare Before Christmas?

@lynneblundell I don’t think so… but I freaking love that movie! :) I just found this avatar randomly on the internet.

hmmm I think it could be ya know???

I have been cracking my back, neck and elbows since I was a teen. I am almost 60 and have suffered no ill-effects whatsoever. I do have a normal amount of degenerative disc disease in my back, but not from cracking. I also had a bone density study done about five years ago and was told I had the bone density of a 40 year-old. I like dynamicduo’s explanation about the noise it makes, and thought it was something along those lines.