Why Does My Neck Click, Crack, and Pop? Top 3 reasons…

Ever turn your head in traffic and hear the gritty grindy feeling followed by an audible pop? You are not alone! We at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic are asked daily, “why does my neck crack or pop randomly?” 

This sensation has a fancy medical term “crepitus.” Crepitus is just that, a term for the peculiar crackling, crinkly, or grating feeling or sound that can occur under the skin, around the lungs, or in the joints Whether you are bending, stretching, working out our joints (at any age) can make various sounds. 

Often times these are caused by 3 reasons:

1. Gas. It builds in every joint in the body

A build up of gas can occur in any joint in the body! The synovial fluid which is the WD-40 for joints, it’s what keeps joints moving well. Think of a can of soda, which when opened has that crack, pop, and fizz when first opened. The same thing happens when a build up of the gasses (nitrogen & oxygen) gets trapped in a joint, and is then released. We have this big release of those gasses and you can hear an audible “POP.”   

2. Let’s Talk Tendons!  

When our muscles do work, they need something to pull on to move the bone they are attached to. When we move our neck, the muscles create the force we need to look where we want to look. What happens next is our tendons glide over the bony bumps that can form on vertebrae causing a snapping or clicking sound. 

3. Age and disc space

As we get older, the disc space between each vertebrae above gets smaller and smaller. This is also why we get shorter over time. This wearing down of the disc space can leave bones rubbing against each other and can cause a grinding sensation rather than a pop. 

So what can I do about it?

Well, there can be a few things that you can do about it, but it also depends on the cause.  

• Stop intentionally popping the joint

If the popping is coming from gas build up in a synovial joint, and you are intentionally trying stressing a joint to see if it still pops, then stop popping it intentionally (Simple, right!?).  You may be putting much more stress on the joint than there should be.  For example, you may notice that when you first crack a knuckle in your hand, it might be more difficult to crack, but after cracking your knuckles daily for years you may notice it becomes much easier to crack.  Have the joint looked at and properly adjusted by a licensed chiropractor, and then let the joint be. 

• Get adjusted

 In the same sense if you are not trying to pop a joint intentionally but it continues to pop on its own it may be a misalignment issue and normal range of motion can actually put a joint to a stressing point past its physiologically normal range creating that "pop" noise.   Once again this may be an alignment issue so make sure to get it adjusted.  

• Stretching 

If it is a tendon, often times this can be due to a tight muscle (which ends of muscles are where we find tendons).  So if the muscle is very tight it may create stress on the tendon over a bone or another tendon.  So stretching the proper muscle of the tight tendon can help the popping.  

So regardless the reason for your popping, clicking, or cracking, make sure you are checking with your chiropractor to help and see exactly what the cause is. For any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to see if we can help evaluate your issues. Feel free to call us at 406-551-2177 or go online to gallatinvalleychiropractic.com.