Is it safe to crack your own spine?
You can mobilise and stretch your own spine, but ´realigning´ (releasing the right joints in the right direction) your own spine is pretty much impossible to do. Chiropractors can’t even do it to themselves. So, what´s the real difference between mobilising and ‘realigning´ your spine?
By stretching and moving in certain directions you can sometimes mobilise/loosen some spinal joints, depending on how stuck they are. (The longer they have been stuck the harder this tends to be.) But the difficulty lies in both knowing which exact joints need to be released, and actually being able to localise the release to that exact joint. Mobilising is freeing up joints in a general area of the spine, but ‘realigning’ is much more specific.
By moving certain ways, you can release an area, but you can’t be as specific as a chiropractor can be. If you can’t be specific, you will tend to release the joints that aren’t so stuck, and if these start to move more, the really stuck joints will be even less inclined to move. It can end up making the problem worse.
If you hear a few cracks or pops as you stretch that’s fine, but be very careful trying to crack your own spine, especially if you feel like you need to do it day after day. This is a strong indication that what you are doing is not helping.
Do Chiropractors actually ‘realign’ spines?
Chiropractors don’t actually ‘realign’ spines. They simply loosen or release specific joints in the spine that have become jammed or restricted and have started causing, pain, muscle spasm, inflammation, or irritation to the spinal nerves. The key is to find then localise the release to the exact vertebra/vertebrae that need it. This skill takes five years of full-time study to learn to do safely and effectively.
Stefan Becker
Barcelona Chiropractor Blog