Why you shouldn’t let your friends step on your back
You have seen it many times. One friend lies on his stomach and the other friend walks on his back. Or, you’re sitting in class, and the kid across from you grabs his chin and pushes it toward his shoulder, resulting in a lot of popping and crunching. People crack their knuckles. They have friends who bear hug them from behind and pick them up off the ground to break their backs. Some people even sink their knee into a friend’s spine and pull their shoulders back to break their back. These things may feel better temporarily, but they are not good for you in the long run.
If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor, you’ll notice that they also break your back and neck during an adjustment. Common sense would tell you that if a chiropractor goes through extensive education and training to do this for money, he shouldn’t let his friends do it. Bones pop and creak when they move a certain way, and the sound you hear is the result of gases released into the joint’s synovial fluid. Once you’ve cracked your neck, back, fingers, etc., you can’t crack them again right away because you have to wait for the gases to return to the synovial fluid.
If you are one of those who breaks your bones a lot, you may find that you feel the “need” to break them to feel better. However, the more you break your bones and joints on your own, the more long-term damage you’re causing. Think about how people crack their necks or fingers. They bend them backwards, forwards, or to the side in a way that seems like they shouldn’t go. This is because popping joints means taking them out of their normal range of motion.
When you crack or hit your back or neck, you are taking the ligaments and muscles out of their normal range of motion. When your muscles are stretched this way, you feel better, so you get some relief afterwards. Your muscles are what hold your ligaments in place, and when you move your body that way, they stretch, meaning the muscles will soon tighten to hold the ligaments in place again.
When your friends manipulate your body in this way, they could cause a sprain or strain. A sprain is an injury to the ligaments and a strain is an injury to the muscles. One wrong move and they could seriously hurt you.
Chiropractors have to go through years of training to be able to manipulate their patients. They learn all the different parts of the spine and how to move them without hurting their patient. If you want your back and neck to receive proper treatment, you should go to a chiropractor to have it adjusted. These types of appointments may even be covered by health insurance.