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The clicks and pops people can sometimes hear in the body aren’t all joints cracking.Some of them are joints releasing and other similar-sounding noises are tendons flicking past bones. Most of these noises are incidental, BUT they can be good for you or bad for you. This depends on how often they pop and where these cracks come from.
What makes joints crack?
Joints that can crack are called synovial joints. They have fluid inside an airtight joint capsule, and if the bones separate enough this can cause a popping sound. The extra space between the bones as they separate reduces the pressure in the joint. This sucks gases out of the joint fluid causing a sudden crack. (Like a champagne bottle popping.)
This is the kind of crack that chiropractors can make in the spine as they release chronically tight joints. It loosens up the joint and breaks up any adhesions in the joint, but it should only be done on restricted joints (which chiropractors can detect).
If the joint is not restricted, cracking it regularly can cause too much movement—something that can happen if someone cracks their own spine daily.
What makes Tendon Flicks?
Tendons normally move past bony protrusions easily, but if the muscles are too tight, the tendons can snap past the bone making a noise. This is normally fine and does not cause issues. But if it happens repeatedly over bursa (fluid filled sacs within the body that protect these bony protrusions), it can cause bursitis.
So, if this happens on the sides of your hips, or knees, and that area becomes tender, you should get it checked out buy a professional. One way to know if the noise is a tendon flick is the frequency. Tendon clicks can happen repetitiously, with every repeated movement, but joint can only crack every 15-20 minutes or so.
How do you know if a chiropractor is good?
Stefan Becker
Barcelona Chiropractor
