The “Crack”, what is it?

When a therapist stretches a neck or presses a back, the popping sound that results is called “cavitation.” People commonly believe that the therapist is realigning your bones. In reality a gas bubble simply pops to create that sound. Yes, the liquid between the joints is called synovial fluid and, like any other fluid, it contains gasses inside it such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. When a chiropractor manipulates the spine, those bubbles pop, creating the familiar “crack.” 

Is it dangerous?

Short answer: You aren’t in danger when cracking the neck.

The sound itself has nothing to do with your bones, as explained before a gas bubble pops when your joints are separated by a high-velocity-low-amplitude (HVLA) manipulation technique.

I’m scared of it, is there an alternative?

Yes, several.

You can effectively substitute any high-velocity-low-amplitude (HVLA) manipulation with a low-velocity-low-amplitude (LVLA) mobilization, which achieves similar effects without any “crack”.

Why is it so trendy right now?

A therapist’s priority should be to improve your quality of life, not to chase the cavitation sound.

Unfortunately, an increasing amount of YouTube channels features chiropractors cracking their clients, always following the same pattern:

• the therapist is usually a male (I have seen very few with female therapists so far);
• the client is usually a gorgeous girl with a tight outfit;
• The therapist cracks every joint without any procedure, protocol, or clinical plan.

Social media and some questionable therapists have turned “the crack” into a glamorized trend, prioritized over real client issues.

In the mind of clients there is this association now: Crack = effective treatment.

Note: if you want to “impress” your client by cracking the neck or the back, that’s a fairly easy thing to achieve. But I would suggest to explain the client what that sound is, why it happens, and that it means pretty much nothing from a health perspective.

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Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic (JCC) link to an interesting article on this topic: SPINAL MANIPULATION VS SPINAL MOBILIZATION – DOES THE CAVITATION MATTER? – A CLINICAL COMMENTARY