What Causes the "Popping" and "Cracking" Sound of a Chiropractic Adjustment?
If you’ve spent some time on TikTok or Instagram lately, you may have come across chiropractic videos of people getting adjusted and hearing the famous “pop.” Although many of these videos are exaggerations of a typical chiropractic visit, I can understand people’s fascination with it: You hear a loud sound, and yet people say it feels good. How can that be?
If you’re wondering what an adjustment is, and why it makes that sound, I can explain:
What is an adjustment?
The joints of the body and spine need to be able to move freely and comfortably to stay healthy. But injuries, repetitive movements, poor posture, and other stresses, can cause joints to become irritated, stiff and painful. A chiropractic adjustment is a specialized procedure that precisely stretches a joint to help restore its normal motion and function.
So, what makes the sound?
Adjustments are often accompanied by a distinctive “popping” sound. This occurs because when a joint is quickly stretched, or “adjusted”, there is a rapid suction and release that occurs inside the joint, similar to opening a sealed jar. This quick decompression causes dissolved gases within the joint’s lubricating fluid to expand and create a temporary vapour cavity or bubble within the joint to fill the additional space created. This process is known as “cavitation”, and it’s the sudden formation of the vapour bubble within the joint that is thought to make the actual sound.
What does it feel like?
For those who’ve never been adjusted by a chiropractor before, an adjustment feels similar to pulling a finger to “crack a knuckle”; it doesn’t hurt, but you can usually hear the pop and feel a “release”. Naturally, people often feel nervous before their first adjustment, but they are often surprised that it feels good! Both adjustments and cavitation are completely natural, and often provide better mobility and noticeable relief.
If it doesn’t make a sound, does it mean the adjustment didn’t work?
Sometimes, adjustments don’t produce any sound, and because of this, patients might naturally assume that the adjustment wasn’t successful. But this isn’t the case. Research shows that patients generally improve under chiropractic care whether a cavitation is heard or not. In fact, there are some chiropractic techniques that do not produce any cavitation at all. That’s because the important part of an adjustment is the movement that it creates and restores, and not just the sound. It’s also important to understand that adjustments are only part of the overall treatment approach, which typically includes soft-tissue therapies, therapeutic exercises, addressing harmful habits, posture, and other important considerations in the overall health and wellness of our patients.
Questions?
If you are curious about starting chiropractic care, and you are wondering if it might be helpful for you, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to talk to you about your case and any questions you may have.
- Dr. Shawn Toner, BSc, DC
References:
Real-Time Visualization of Joint Cavitation (Kawchuk et al. 2015):