Funny picture..  People tell me all the time that they can pop themselves and don’t need a chiropractor.  Well this post will explain the danger that exists if you can already “pop” yourself.

I have done it too, don’t get me wrong, grew up wrestling, football, rugby, BMX, etc..  I could turn my head and hear that pop, pop, pop.  It got so bad that I had to “pop” my neck so often it became more of a habit.  Sure it felt good afterwards, but what I didn’t know what how to fix it.

Finally ended up in a chiropractors office, he sat me down and explained what was happening and why it wouldn’t fix itself.  You see, the bones I was popping in my neck weren’t the problem, they were the symptom of the problem.  And, I was making it worse everytime I “Popped” myself.  This doctor adjusted me 3 times that week, over the weekend I still tried to pop my own neck (by now it was a habit and I needed to do it), but very few pops ever happened that weekend.

By the end of the second week, I was starting to try popping my neck less, and my neck felt much better too.  After the 3rd week, my neck was feeling great, no extra pops when I tried to “fix” my own neck either.

So what did the chiropractor do that I didn’t????  Well the bones I was “popping” were not the cause of the problem, see, the top two bones in my neck were stuck, that meant the bones below it needed to move more so I could turn my head the same distance.  This made those bones unstable, made them looser.  When I started “popping” my neck, I was actually stretching and moving the lower bones more each time, thus making them more and more unstable.  This is one major cause of arthritis and degeneration in the spine too, not good.  When the chiropractor specifically “Adjusted” the two bones that were stuck, normal motion started to be restored.  It took a few weeks for the ligaments and muscles to tighten up where they needed too and then my neck began to function and move properly.

Now I see people all the time twisting their necks, rotating their lower backs and even leaning over chairs to “pop” their spines, maybe they need to know the truth and get help to restore proper function so arthritis and degeneration don’t take over their lives?

Help spread the word, if you see someone “popping” themselves, just ask them how often they have to do that, and then refer them to my blog or my office for help…

Dr. P