Is cracking your back the ultimate solution for backaches, neck pain, and headaches? The answer is... maybe. Back cracking can help relieve you of those pains, but not if you do it yourself. The back cracking we're talking about is spinal manipulation. Spinal manipulations are routinely used to treat pain conditions like back pain and neck pain. It's also used to treat other musculoskeletal conditions by applying force to the spinal joints. The idea behind spinal manipulations is that applying force to problem areas in the spine will restore the spine's structural integrity, improve the nervous system, reduce pain, and allow the body to heal itself naturally. Spinal adjustments of some type have been used for over 100 years. Today, spinal manipulation is used in both Western medicine as well as Asian medicines. In The U.S. and throughout North America, it’s usually performed by chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. A spinal manipulation typically involves the manual or mechanical applications of thrusts on the lumbar spine and cervical spine. In the article below, we will take a deep dive into spinal manipulation and what it means.
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