cracking backs / toes?

[LMV]

i have a message from Pars:

"Hello Everyone, my name is Pars. My last name is Interarticulars. They call me Pars for short. I am a part of the vertebra located between the inferior and superior articular processes [my Mother] of the facet joint [my Father] in the tranverse plane. Please don't have others step on me, especially if I'm small and the stepee is large, because there is a chance that you not only will fracture my name, but could "step on that crack" and break my Mother's back also. This will cause my Father to become very angry as he will then have to support the compromised area ALL BY HIMSELF. Like most Father's, my Dad is very strong. But overtme he will become fatigued from the extra work and then the repeated attempts of someone stepping on his already injured family. At some point, and without warning, my Father will break to. We will then have to pay a visit to our frenemy the Surgeon."


Sincerely,

Pars Interarticularis & Family

This is great! I'm not sure if I find it more humorous because I'm a physician or not. I may have to forward this to a few colleagues---I'll give you credit.

P.S. I agree to not allowing your kids to be intentionally stepped on and I would even think a second and third time about allowing chiropractic manipulation in kids who still have open growth plates. [There is good literature out there to suggest this is a bad idea.]

 

[Kiwi]

P.S. I agree to not allowing your kids to be intentionally stepped on and I would even think a second and third time about allowing chiropractic manipulation in kids who still have open growth plates. [There is good literature out there to suggest this is a bad idea.]

Could you please post links or references, I would like to know more.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

this is one of those things that don't need explanation, links or references. it's tantamount to standing inside a burning house and waiting until fire rescue comes to put the fire out because one thinks they won't get burned and the house will stand tall.

 

[gymdog]

Your daughter is pretty young so I would be very concerned about that. My back doesn't generally crack much but as teenagers lots of the girls I worked out with would want someone to crack their back (by pressing on it with open hands, not standing though) I guess sometimes the coaches did, maybe, mostly it was other girls. More recently I have friends who will ask me to stand on their backs at the gym but I never do because it just doesn't seem like a good idea (these are young adults who have been athletes most of their lives...not young children).

 

[Coach.Simon]

i have a message from Pars:

"Hello Everyone, my name is Pars. My last name is Interarticulars. They call me Pars for short. I am a part of the vertebra located between the inferior and superior articular processes [my Mother] of the facet joint [my Father] in the tranverse plane. Please don't have others step on me, especially if I'm small and the stepee is large, because there is a chance that you not only will fracture my name, but could "step on that crack" and break my Mother's back also. This will cause my Father to become very angry as he will then have to support the compromised area ALL BY HIMSELF. Like most Father's, my Dad is very strong. But overtme he will become fatigued from the extra work and then the repeated attempts of someone stepping on his already injured family. At some point, and without warning, my Father will break to. We will then have to pay a visit to our frenemy the Surgeon."


Sincerely,

Pars Interarticularis & Family

Bahaha

Well played!

 

[LMV]

Could you please post links or references, I would like to know more.

Usually I'm not a fan of meta analyses for my own research, however, if you're starting to look at a topic they can be a great place to start. [You can always go to the references and pull all the individual articles if you are so inclined.]

So this is probably a decent place to start...Adverse Events Associated With Pediatric Spinal Manipulation: A Systematic Review

 

[Deleted member D3987]

so, it's safe to assume that the back can't be used as a grape as in the process of making wine?

 

[mayestra12]

I haven't heard anything else about the cracking issue with dd in the gym. I don't think the coach was ever cracking backs...just a 7 year old imagination gone wild I guess. I think an occasional toe crack may happen if coach pushes on them for whatever reason. The worst thing to come out of this is my dd is now a knuckle cracker and I can't stand it!!!! I'm trying not to harp on it as I know she'll just do it more.

 

[BlairBob]

[video=youtube;0OPL87ih7B4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OPL87ih7B4&feature=related[/video]

I have been known to do this my gymnasts to loosen up the thoracic area of their spine and shoulders. It is simply done by pressing my hands down on their backs until a pop happens. If it doesn't, I might have them roll out their back on a foam roller or do straddle swings on rings or pike/arch swings in their hips on a high bar to loosen up their lower back (it's pretty much impossible to pop the lower back unless you use a chiropractic adjustment).

The same effect can be replicated by rolling on a foam roller or hanging on a bar and swinging a bit. An inversion table will do the same thing though you can also do it by hanging upside down in a knee hang on a single rail. Doing it from a knee hang will tend to loosen up the lower back and not affect the shoulders.

2. I do not advocate walking on the gymnast's back. It's not needed. I did pay some of my lil guys to do it to me but the lil buggers decided to see if my spine worked like a trampoline. You might see a violent pushing action used by some amateurs on youtube but by simply placing your hands on the area and applying pressure by putting a small fraction of your bodyweight on it. If it doesn't pop up, I'll have the kids go roll out their back or hang on bars or rings which gets some odd looks but is needed for some kids who tend to be very tight.

As well most gymnasts do not like the popping sensation or it tickles or the sound. Considering an adult will weigh 2 or 3 times a gymnast, you can see why you don't need to use the violent adjustment action. When chiros have had to work on me, they have had a heck of a time they have said due to the weightlifting I've done over the years. Our gym's sports chiro literally had to set up little blocks, use heatpads to loosen up the area and try to use everything of his small body to get an adjustment. I found it kind of amusing.

3. Adjustments to the neck even in chiropractics can be very dicey. It's in all the known chiro literature as some adjustments have been known to cause seizures and all sorts of bad stuff. That's why some schools of chiro do not do neck adjustments.

4. Popping the back and joints is very common in judo, which I trained in as a youth. Your back simply will get tight being tossed around and tumbling tends to compress the joints in the spine (which is why often many gymnasts back will pop when they swing high bar or rings).

The popping sensation you hear is the sound a bubble of synovial fluid makes when it cavitates.

Excessive cracking of a joint generally means there is an adhesion in the joint or the tendon is making a sound as it moves in the joints which often means it is not aligning correctly.

The popping sensation tends to loosen too much tension. I frequently will adjust my elbows which all stems from my shoulders alignment being all screwed up. I will actually lose ROM in my elbows and not even be able to lock out without a self adjustment.

At times the joint itself will pop to self align itself instead of manually doing though I can often tell when it is slightly off alignment as it actually feels uncomfortable.