"Why not "crack" my own back? It feels great! I know it fixes what's wrong because I feel better afterward!" These are words heard oh so often when the many "back crackers" try to defend their actions. I know you may get temporary relief, but you need to know that you could be doing much more harm to your back and the health of your entire body. Stop the "self-adjusting!" Stop trying to help your friends by "cracking" their backs!

Often there is a sound heard when you self-adjust or are adjusted by a chiropractor. This sound is a gas that is released that may relieve pressure but it most certainly does not mean that the proper bone was adjusted and moved into its proper position. When you move your bones by "cracking" your own spine, the result is often like that of a trauma to your spine. It's as if you had an accident that caused your bones to move. You could be doing damage to your back that will last a lifetime. You often times may not feel pain at the time, but you may still be causing great damage.

Stretching is OK and at times when you stretch you may feel the "popping" occur which may even feel good at the moment. Whether you are stretching or "cracking" your own back, if you hear the sound, it is often indicative of instability in your spine. This is a time when you need to get to a chiropractor and have a thorough evaluation of your spine. It's important to remember that when you're self-treating your back, you're dealing with the spinal cord. The bones of the spine surround and protect the spinal cord and we know how critical the spinal cord is to the health of the entire body!

Did you know that there are more than 12 miles of nerves that travel through your spinal column to your brain thus sending millions of messages throughout your body? These nerves that make up your nervous system communicate the messages from your brain to every cell, organ and tissue in your body. Whether it is breathing, digesting food, speaking, walking or even simply reacting to pain, your nervous system controls it all. If a nerve is blocked by a vertebrae that is not aligned as it should be, problems occur. You may not feel pain for a long time but the misalignment of the bone is causing injury to your body even before the pain is felt. This explains why any degree of trauma, including the "cracking" of your own back, can be causing damage in more ways than you can possibly imagine.

A chiropractor, after careful examination including the use of a variety of diagnostic tools, will know which bones need to be adjusted and can adjust the spine in a safe way that will help your nervous system to work in the way it was intended. Without the knowledge and expertise of a chiropractor, your spinal cord and your entire nervous system may be at risk. If you take matters into your own hands and continue the practice of "self-adjusting" your own back, your health for years to come may be in jeopardy.

Call us at Spoelstra Family Chiropractic at (208) 667-7434 for more information about this and other ways chiropractic can help you to live a more healthy and vibrant life! You can also find us on the Web at www.CDAHealth.com and on Facebook and Twitter.