I'm skeptical about the idea of cracking either causing or relieving headaches.

How have other possible causes been ruled out?

There is a logical fallacy known as "post hoc ergo propter hoc" which means "after this therefore because of this."

Just because Y follows X, does not mean that X causes Y.

You spend too much time online and its going to give you forward head posture which is hard to correct! I know because I am a illustrator and it has happened to me. It sucks but you are young and can reverse it before you look like a freaky old man!!! Do upper back workouts ,lay in the floor and sleep without pillows. I hope this helps. Also I agree with the other sif you can see a chiropractor thatw ould help maybe he can pop it out.

Isn't arthritis much more common in older people? How old are you Henry88?

@Elle:

I have the same issue for years now..primarily on the right side, but it will also migrate to the left side..but when it does the urge OTC rack on the right side disappears. So the constant and increasingly maddening urge to crack only happens on one side at a time. I might only have a day of relief but then the whole things starts up again out of nowhere. There are people who post here who seem to enjoy the sensation. I find it depressing and disruptive, and frustrating that I haven't been able to find any answers to this. I am healty, have been tested for lupus, rheumatoid, and lymes…I had lymes over 15 years ago, and was treated..so I don't know if this is connected somehow. I tested negative for the other conditions. I think I eat healthy, but now am looking into supplements. Glucosamine produced no results for me. I exercise regularly and do yoga, but nothing seems to alleviate this. It's not painful, it just maddening because as soon as I crack, the urge to do it again is right back.mthis goes on from morning until night, and I find it hard to sleep because I can't get comfortable. I came and sounds like other people experience what I do, so I guess it's good to know I'm not the only one.

I will have to try yoga

@twid:

Any time I eat dairy, of any kind, in the afternoon or evening, I regret it. I sit there in bed for hours with the uncontrollable NEED to crack my ankles, feet, and toes. Sometimes advil will help, sometimes not. I don't know why this is a problem, but it's annoying as h**l.

twid, very interesting, let's continue discussion on allergies as a cause for joint cracking pressure.

Pain and stress are just two things that are troublesome to us. But then again, people the in the medical and research filed are trying their best for us to cope from pain and stress. One of the best thing they have made is the BioMat. The BioMat is FDA registered for treating pain and stress. Many people have found out that the biomat can help with <a href="http://biomatbonus.com"> Chronic Pain </a> and <a href="http://biomatbonus.com"> Stress </a>. These two are just a few of the many symptoms listed on <a href="http://biomatbonus.com"> biomat.com </a> as something the biomat helps with.

I can't help but to repeat what I go thru 24/7 if you pop on a consistant basis you will wear done soft bone between your joints (cartillage) then its bone on bone rubbing which really hurts. my wrist is swollen from tendonitis and my shoulder feel like there is a knife in it. JUSTDONT DO IT SO MUCH…..PLZ

@metakine:

nope, US, with our Wonderful healthcare (extreme sarcasm)

Jeeezusss tell me about it! We're probrably better off without the insurance rip-offs, i mean, scams, oh dang, im being way to nice on the system.

@akillian:

About 8 days ago i woke up with horrible pain in my shoulder and right arm just below my shoulder. because warnth would relieve the pain somewhat everyone says its a pulled tendon. The right side of my neck is so stiff its unbearable, self cracking does nothing to help. There is a valley you could lay your arm in at the base of my neck and it sounds like its filled with rice crispies. the shoulder muscle is stiff and hurts steady all the time and the muscle in my arm on the outside of the arm just below my shoulder hurts so bad it bring tears to my eyes and makes me sick. i got laid of and lost my insurance 12/24 and my new insurance wont kick in for another 30 days. thank g*d i have a stockpile of ibuprophen. i'm just wondering if anyone has ever had a simular experiance and can give me some advice on how to deal with this. im positive its all related to my neck somehow.

I am sorry for the pain your in and I know what it feels like to have shoulder pain so severe. Mine hurts from can't see in the morning to can't see at night. My bone feel like they are rubbing in my shoulder and it pops worst than a bag of jiffy pop popcorn.

Sounds like a loose joint in the first two vertebrae in the spine…go for prolotherapy

he also bragged to me about how i cant do jack about when he punched me, but he can easily get me in trouble for trying to contact him.

I'm gonna have to agree with crackman, I suggest going to the doc, you might be experiencing arthritis or something along those lines. My hubby suffers from pain in his joints, he has some kind of immunodeficiency disorder (IGA or something like that, don't really remember). Anyway, point he is generally in a lot of pain, although he's never really cracked a joint in his body but the main areas of pain for him are his fingers, wrists and ankles.

Get yourself checked, rather be safe than sorry.

@Gilf_tronic:

I have many health ailments, one of which I'm most concerned with at the moment is an increasing dependence on sugar. I find the more dependent I get on sugar the more my body cracks.

I'm working on improving my dietary concerns, but has anyone explored the theory of cracking joints being related to poor diet?

Peter

No but i think omega 3 fish oils help improve joint stability.

@NOEngineer:

I also have a strong, repetitive desire to drink water, eat food, and go to the bathroom due to certain overwhelming signals from my body. Sorry for the sarcasm, but there seems to be an assumption inherent in much of this site that the desire to crack joints is somehow false or contrary to what is healthy.

Here are some things to consider:

Perhaps pressure inside the joint is bad. I work in the chemical industry, and relieving excess pressure from tanks and vessels is a requirement to prevent damage to them. An imperfect analogy, I know… Perhaps the pressure is caused by some failure of the joint membranes that allows more gasses to migrate into the joint, and/or less gasses to migrate out. I would assume that the joint is alive, and therefore needs oxygen to be supplied and CO2 to be removed. Alternatively, maybe there is something in the cracker's system that generates more gas inside the joint. Decomposition or other reactions of chemicals can give off gases.

On the other hand, maybe everyone has the same amount of dissolved gas, but different nerve sensitivity to the resulting pressure. Just as some people have sensitivity to noise or light levels that don't bother most humans, maybe crackers have extra sensitivity to pressure. I doubt this is a cause, since my body involuntarily cracks when I stretch, walk, etc. But, maybe I've just loosened up every joint in my body over the years because I have cracked them on purpose so many times due to heightened sensitivity....

Thank you for sharing your theory, NOEngineer! Something to ponder on, for sure!

@NOEngineer:

As noted elsewhere in the forum, my father and at least two brothers and at least 2 neices also crack, but to a lesser degree than me. None of them share any of my listed symptoms. In chronological order:

Premature birth (6 weeks, considered extreme in 1962)
Pneumonia (stopped after age 6 or so)
Bronchitis (stopped after age 6 or so). Got ear tubes in at 6, out at 10.
Hyperactivity. Took amphetemines from ages 8 to 14. Shorter than
my brothers as a result.
Allergies to dust, fur, feathers, shrimp, peanuts, soy. I
don't avoid any of these. I have chronic sinus drip to my stomach.
Skin fungal infections (ages 16 to 24).
Prostate infections (ages 18 to 24). Stopped when I gave up beer.
Kidney stones (ages 40 and 43). Flared up when trying high-protein
diet to lose weight.
Lots of intestinal gas, but this is probably due to enjoying lots of fruit
and vegetables (along with everything else).
Overweight (gaining about 1.5 lbs per year since age 22)

I'm actually pretty happy. I rarely take medication for anything, just ibuprofen for pain after excercise. The cracking doesn't bother me, but I don't like the idea of paralysis or stroke due to neck cracking, so I try to keep up with the research every so often to see if anyone has any bright ideas. Of course, others are bothered so that is (slight) incentive to stop if a cure could be found for the stiffness and lack of mobility.

so what point are you arguing here?

lol