What Happens To Your Joint During A Chiropractic Adjustment?

Dr. Yap performing an upper-back spinal manipulation (adjustment).

*Pop!

You’re probably familiar with the sound your knuckles make when you crack them. This is called a ‘Cavitation’. This is also true when you visit your local chiropractor for chiropractic adjustments to the spine or extremities. Today, we’re going to talk about what actually happens in the joint and what causes the ‘cracking’ sound or cavitation when chiropractors perform adjustments or what I like to call spinal manipulation. 

It was not until recently that researchers & scientists discovered via cine MRI that the actual mechanism of an adjustment is the formation of an air bubble when the joint surfaces separate resulting in a vapour cavity. It was previously thought that the cracking sound that may follow during an adjustment is the release or ‘popping’ of the gas bubble formed but this has now been demystified. I’ve referenced the article at the bottom where they performed this MRI study of a joint undergoing gradual separation resulting in an audible ‘pop’ and the formation of a gas bubble.

Another thing to note that I get asked a lot from patients is “Does cracking my knuckles or joints put me at higher risk for joint degeneration?” I am here to tell you the current best evidence out there says NO. There is no correlation or causation that states that joint cracking leads to an increased risk of joint degeneration. 

Here’s the link to the MRI study referenced in this blog: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4398549/ 

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