What does an adjustment do? Popping is bad right?

What is an adjustment, what happens when my back pops? Ah yes, the crux of the chiropractic practice, and maybe the most common question I hear in my office.

When young, my parents told me "don't pop your knuckles, or they'll end up looking like Grandpas!" Then Grandpa would show me his hands and I would swear off knuckle popping for a day or so, until the sight of those knobby wrinkled hands slowly left my mind. Inevitably I would go back to popping my knuckles ever now and then; it just seemed to feel good. As a matter of fact a good stretch in the morning , along with a few pops, just seems to be a good thing.

Research shows that popping your knuckles, done infrequently, doesn't lead to damage (yes, people research these things - go online, take a look). The reports show that the knuckles stay more flexible and tend to be less painful.

Could my parents have been wrong? Probably, yes. Likely the noise just bugged them, like it bugged their parents before them. I've got news, when we get that old our fingers will look like Grandpas too and not because we popped them. It's kind of like mom telling you not to cross your eyes or they may stay that way; it just bugs her.

Likewise, It's a shame that spinal "popping" has gotten such a bad name too. A lot of the people, even some in the medical profession, seem to think it's dangerous, borderline deadly. They couldn't be more wrong.

So what is the real story?

Truth is popping, spinal manipulation or adjustments, as chiropractors call it, have been going on for a very long time. Overall, it is extremely safe and effective. As a matter of fact, Hippocrates the father of modern medicine, wrote books on spinal adjusting as long ago as the first century AD. He practiced spinal adjustments, massage and herbal techniques. Father of modern medicine? Sounds more like a chiropractor to me! One of his famous quotes is "Look well to the spine for the cause of disease". I'd say he was way ahead of his time.

Other cultures throughout history have had health care practitioners that employed various forms of spinal adjusting. Even in early America, we had Bonesetters that did a version of just that.

So if adjusting isn't bad, why is it good?

In my practice, at the Frisco Chiropractic Center, I have decided that the best way to describe the effects of spinal adjusting to patients is "tune-and-lube". Like a machine, parts have to be in the right place and move through a normal range of motion while lubricated. If this happens, the machine doesn't squeal and grind, it doesn't wear out early and it tends to cost us less. In our body a similar phenomena happens.

Human joints and vertebrae also have to be in the right place and move smoothly while lubricated. All movable joints in the body have an inner lining (synovial membrane) that produces grease. Proper motion is what massages the grease into the joint. If a joint moves smoothly, it stays lubricated, it is able to pump nutrients into and waste products out of the joint. If the joint happens to be a vertebra, the motion also tends to pump fluid in and out of the disc; keeping it plump and hydrated. Joint motion also stimulates ligaments and tendons keeping them flexible and elastic. In the spine, normally functioning vertebrae are also better able to protect the sensitive spinal cord and nerve roots responsible for controlling nearly all of our body functions.

When I adjust a person, two things happen. The first is alignment. A joint that has either been jammed or allowed to heal improperly from a previous injury, must be aligned. The second part is lubrication. When a joint is stretched open, it makes a suction noise, much like pulling your boot out of the mud; hence the popping sound. This suction pulls in lubricant from lining of the joint, like I mentioned above. If I'm putting something in a better place and oiling it, that's tune-and-lube anyway you look at it. Once we get the joint moving more normally, it will begin to clean and lubricate itself, then stretching and exercise, done by the patient, will help greatly with rehabilitation.

Likewise, without motion, a joint becomes dry. It looses the ability to feed and clean itself. Scar tissue forms. Discs begin to dry out. When these issues exist for long periods, destructive changes happen leading to degenerative arthritis. If it becomes bad enough you may end up needing to see someone that has knives and needles! In the spine, scar tissue, calcification and degenerative discs can also end up compromising nerve function leading to neurological issues such as sciatica.

So to sum it up, popping isn't necessarily bad. The problem is, adjusting oneself therapeutically is tough, we tend to twist and torque ourselves; hoping we are lucky enough to get it right. Sometimes our contortions do the trick, generally they don't. To ensure an accurate specific adjustment, go see your chiropractor. A little tune-and-lube can go a long way to insuring healthy and proper spinal function!

Yours for better health naturally through chiropractic,

Flint Loughridge DC

Frisco Chiropractic Center
Frisco, Texas