Symptoms, Benefits and Risks of Neck Cracking

What are the Symptoms of Neck Cracking?

• Stiffness in the neck, shoulder and upper chest
• Pain in the neck
• Neck crepitus or a popping sound when the neck is moved in a specific direction
• Difficult neck movement in any particular direction

What are the Benefits and Risks of Neck Cracking?

Neck cracking benefits are:

• It helps relieve muscle tension
• Positive mental effect - Just hearing the sound of joint cracking can make you feel better as these sounds are associated with the release of pressure and proper re-adjustment of a joint
• Release of endorphins in the area of your neck joints - Endorphins help manage pain and give you a feeling of contentment. This could be the reason why some people do neck cracking all the time

Risks of neck cracking are:

• Nerve injury - Frequent and forceful neck cracking can pinch the nerves in your neck and result in very painful neck movements
• Muscle injury - Strain and spasm of neck muscles may be caused by repeated irritation to the muscles
• Joint instability and hypermobility - Repeated popping of the joint may lead to joint instability as it causes the ligaments to become lax, lose their shape and become permanently stretched. This also results in a wider range of movement
• Injury to the spinal cord - If you crack your neck too forcefully, a spinal cord injury can result
• Puncture of blood vessels - Though rare, forceful neck movements, can damage the vertebral artery and form a blood clot within the blood vessel which may result in a stroke
• Osteoarthritis - Cracking the neck regularly puts lots of pressure on the joints and may lead to the ends of bones becoming weaker
• Fracture - May occur especially in older people
• Disc injury - Applying force to an existing disc hernia may lead to increased pain and other symptoms such as numbness and tingling in the extremities

References:

1. Degenerative Neck Conditions - (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16913-degenerative-neck-conditions)
2. Vertebral artery dissection in a patient practicing self-manipulation of the neck John S. Mosbya and Stephen M. Durayb - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3315865/)
3. Harvard Health Publishing - (https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/how-to-soothe-a-sore-neck)

Cite this Article ⇣⇡

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

• APA

  Dr. Sunita Chowdhary. (2019, June 27). Symptoms, Benefits and Risks of Neck Cracking. Medindia. Retrieved on Sep 17, 2024 from https://www.medindia.net/health/conditions/symptoms-benefits-and-risks-of-neck-cracking.htm.

• MLA

  Dr. Sunita Chowdhary. "Symptoms, Benefits and Risks of Neck Cracking". Medindia. Sep 17, 2024. <https://www.medindia.net/health/conditions/symptoms-benefits-and-risks-of-neck-cracking.htm>.

• Chicago

  Dr. Sunita Chowdhary. "Symptoms, Benefits and Risks of Neck Cracking". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/health/conditions/symptoms-benefits-and-risks-of-neck-cracking.htm. (accessed Sep 17, 2024).

• Harvard

  Dr. Sunita Chowdhary. 2019. Symptoms, Benefits and Risks of Neck Cracking. Medindia, viewed Sep 17, 2024, https://www.medindia.net/health/conditions/symptoms-benefits-and-risks-of-neck-cracking.htm.