Recently I've been cracking my neck. I try not to but I'm just curious, can cracking your neck or any other body part be dangerous?

When you "crack" bones you are releasing the air trapped in the joint.  While it doesn't hurt the joint per se, it is not something you want to do on a regular basis. 

John

I remember the day I was in 8th grade at wrestling practice and I pulled my neck.  Friend says, want me to crack it?  I say sure... then it started needing to br cracked all the time.

I do my best not too.  But sometimes it cant be helped :/

Does that now make you a "crack" addict.  Doh! :-P

haha, I hope not!

My dad always told me it was bad for you so I never did it. I've noticed that in others though, once you start cracking your joints, you gotta keep doing it.

Kind of like going to a Chiropracter, everyone I've ever known that goes to one, has to keep going for life. They never really get fully healed :/.

guess I shouldn't be crackin it anymore. thanks guys

does that mean when i "crack" my fingers (you know when one streches them out) is bad for me ? I never really knew why i did it... didn't know what it was for or if it was bad or good

William,

Not when your young but if you do it for decades, you could wear away some of the cartilage in the joint possibly causing problems.

John

So even when you rotate your feet/ankles and it "cracks" that might cause problems when youre older? 

No.....unless you purposely do that everyday :-)   It is a cumulative thing.  If/when joints crack occassionally and not intentionally, no problem.  If people make a habit of cracking their joints and they add the added stress of weightlifting over time it could lead to problems.

John

sounds like I need to stop this. i have unfortunately been cracking my fingers and neck for years.

Cracking your fingers or your elbows, knees or ankles will cause no problem whatsoever. Even if you do it every 10 minutes for the rest of your life. There was actually a scientist that died recently, cant remember his name, he wanted to prove this, so he started cracking his left fingers for 20 years, while leaving the right fingers alone all those years. In the end, the two hands were of the same structural integrity.

The story is different though with complex joints like shoulders and spinal joints. If I were you, I would try to stop it because it is an addiction that can lead to strain in the joint, even dislocation in very rare cases.

I have a friend who is a chiropractor. Going to a professional is good for your joints. The reason people think they need to keep going to see one once they start, is because their body was already out of alignment. When the chiropractor adjusts you, your body is realigned however once you go back to your normal routine, your body falls back out of alignment.

Now, I have an entirely different reason to stop cracking your neck. I used to do it all the time, pushing my neck to each side to crack it. There was a study posted on facebook (can't find it anymore, but I'm sure it can be googled) where cracking your neck can weaken the arteries and veins in the neck from being pushed so far to the side. I dissected my carotid artery 8 months ago (tore two holes in the inner wall of the artery) and ended up with a stent. Now, it was from pulling on heavy equipment at work, but it made me think about all the times I forced my neck to crack, could have had something to do with it. I haven't touched my neck in the 8 months I've been recovering nor will I start again. I'm not saying don't do it, just be cautious with how much or how hard you crack it!