Bone Cracker – You Got My Goat!

If you ever want to annoy a chiropractor, call him a bone cracker.  Most of us have learned to mask the emotion, but we still ruffle a bit anyway.  As you have read in a previous posting, chiropractic adjustments are as gentle and precise as the patient’s body will allow.  I spent four years learning how to NOT crack or break bones!

As a matter of fact, frequently a properly delivered adjustment will make no discernible noise whatsoever.  I usually feel the bone drop away from my hand, but I still always check the vertebral positioning afterward, noise or not, to be sure that it is indeed where it needs to be.  Interestingly, moving joints through their normal range of motion often elicits various noises, generally without altering the relative bone positions at all.  Joint noise is a poor indicator of chiropractic success.

So what makes the noise when it does occur?  As indicated above, the majority of noises are joint-related.  I am aware of three different effects resulting from manipulating a joint which create an audible response.

First is the simple contact between bone surfaces which occurs during any movement.  Healthy joint surfaces have a china-like quality which clink and click when forced against each other.  Many times, either through design, or wear and tear, the cartilage pad is thin enough to allow this contact.

Second is the movement of ligaments and tendons that are a part of the joint.  These structures are normally seated in grooves within the bone which act similarly to a pulley.  Occasionally the ligaments and tendons will ride up onto the sides of these grooves, and then suddenly snap back down into position, delivering a twanging sensation.

Finally, there is nitrogen gas dissolved in the fluid which serves as a lubricant in many of our joints.  This gas is what causes a dangerous condition for deep divers known as “the bends”.  When pressure on this fluid is suddenly decreased, whether by a lessening of water pressure or the separation of the joint surfaces during delivery of an adjustment, this nitrogen gas begins to bubble out of the liquid (think loosening of the cap on a bottle of soda).  With an adjustment, this pressure decrease is extremely brief and immediately restored, forcing the gas back into solution.  The crackling sound produced by this rapid bubbling contributes to the joint noises we may hear.

At Val Vista Chiropractic, noisy or not, we will always deliver the best adjustment possible.  We want you to be out of pain and achieving your full health potential.

Getting rid of your pain,

Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor

Val Vista Chiropractic