The “cracking” or “popping” of one’s back or neck is a preconceived notion often associated with a chiropractic adjustment. They are completely different.
If a person has a desire to “crack” his/her neck or back, it is often because one area of their spine is fixated or jammed, causing another area to move too much and “pop,” sometimes by itself. It’s the fixated or jammed area that needs to be properly adjusted by a chiropractor so that the other parts of the spine will not be hypermobile and noisy.
When a person “cracks” their back, the tension relief they may experience is short lived. The cause of the spinal tension, the fixated or jammed (subluxated) vertebrae, has not been corrected. People who make a habit out of “cracking” or “popping” their back or neck should go to a Doctor of Chiropractic to have their spine checked; after all, even a chiropractor cannot adjust him/herself.