But Doc, I Can Crack My Own Neck - Part A

Sally Robinson
Jan 25
2 min read

“But I saw it on TikTok. I can do it myself.”

If I had a pound for every time I heard that line, I’d have enough to build a soundproof room to scream into.

And yet, here we are — in a world where necks are snapped in bathrooms, lumbars twisted in swivel chairs, and Instagram reels are flooded with low-resolution crack-happy chaos. And somewhere in all this… is the dangerous belief that noise equals correction.

It doesn’t.

Noise Isn’t a Measure of Success

We’ve all seen it: the patient proudly demonstrating how they can swing their jaw across their shoulder, yank their chin, and get the satisfying “pop” they think resets their body. Then they wonder why the problem keeps returning and or getting worse.

Let me be crystal clear: a cavitation is not a correction.

A cavitation is the release of gas within the joint. It can occur with or without therapeutic benefit. It often happens at hypermobile segments — joints already too loose, too unstable, and crying out for someone to leave them alone.

The danger is this: people think they’re fixing themselves, when in fact they’re bypassing the actual dysfunction entirely and reinforcing instability.

We Don’t Chase the Audible — We Chase the Dysfunction

This is the core difference between what I do and what the TikTok neck-twister does.

What we do as honest chiropractors is identify the primary dysfunction. The hypomobile joint. The one that doesn’t move, or doesn’t move properly, across one or more axes — X, Y, Z.

Then we adjust it, using a directionally appropriate, high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust. And then — this is key — we retest.

We palpate again.

We compare.

We measure change.

We confirm that the function has been improved.

If there was no cavitation but function returned, that’s a success. If there was a loud crack and nothing changed? That’s a failure.

Therapeutic Adjustment ≠ Entertainment

The unfortunate rise of social media “crack” videos has blurred the lines. People think louder = better. They believe any noise = success. They think DIY back-cracking is no different from the skill of someone who has trained for decades.

And it undermines the profession.

This is precisely why I insist on the term chiropractor — not “chiro.” I’m not a hand. I’m not a sound. I’m a clinical practitioner who utilises neurological, biomechanical, and palpatory literacy to create reproducible, functional changes.

When They Say “I Can Crack It Myself…”

Ask them this:

“Can you identify the restricted joint that’s driving the compensation?”

“Can you assess segmental motion across all planes and retest after intervention?”

“Are you making the hypermobile more hypermobile while leaving the real problem untouched?”

And then ask:

“Or are you just making a noise?”

A Thought to Leave You With

If I took a hammer to your arm and it cracked — would you call that a successful adjustment?

Of course not.

So let’s stop chasing the crack.

Let’s chase the change.