So I'm not 'crackers' afterall - I'm not alone
-
Hi All - Nice to see others who have the need to crack the joints.
My story is that I am just over 51 years old and most of my joints have cracked all of my a***t life - many on their own without much pressure.
Since about 5 years ago, the joints in my fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, clavical, neck and jaw have been painfull and have been weakening and I have had to crack them to relieve pain and lack of mobility.
In the meantime, I have had an acromioplasty performed on my right shoulder last November when a spur was removeed and tears were mended, but since then, there is a problrem with it and due to pain and weakness, I had to stop physiotherary. My surgeon recently took another MRI of it and stated that the results were inconclusive and "let's wait a month and see what happens" . I suggested that this MRI also cover my whole upper body to determine if all the joint and tendon interaction is causing problem but of course they know better. I am getting frustrated because no physician knows anything about my problem or is willing to look at the big pictuure. There has been a slow growing bump on my upper right sternum that they explain as probably chondritis.
The only way I can make my right arm work is when I wake, I have to crack the index and ring finger by pulling them outward, then this will let me crack the rght elbow, I can then crack my neck by jerking it quickly to the left and then I can slowly raise my rght arm up above my shoulder to crack the clavicle joints. I will then have better movement and less pain in that arm. I then need to crack my left arm joints and I can start the day.
I know I'm rambling and I apologize however, I don't crack for fun but to relieve pain and give more range of movement. BTW - I also developed bi-lateral carpal tunnel syndrome. I feel all these problems are a result of a joint or tendon/muscle disorder. I am lossing muscle tone and strength in my arms and am quite concerned.
If there are any threads that are related to my problems, please let me know.
Otherwise, I am a fun guy :lol: and I'm glad I found this group.
Regards, Benny
-
Sounds like you have many a problem which doctors are ignorant of - this procedure that you have to through to move your arm sounds awful and what worsens the situation is that if their was someone similar to you, but was scared of cracking - then there would be trouble.
Since this thread was posted a while - maybe you would like to updat jointcrackers?
-
Hi Blaze - thanks for the reply - to update :
1. I'm still on the right side of the grass.
2. Right shoulder has settled down but still need to crack neck and jaw and now left shoulder displays same symptoms the right did when I needed the acromioplasty - SO - I guess it's back to the doctor for a diagnosis and ultrasound and eventual MRI.
It feels like my joints are pulling themselves apart and the need to crack is as I stated previously - necessary for acceptable movement and pain relief.
This is a pain (sic) in the a*s - no cracking there yet - lol - because I am a young retiree - 52 - and I am quite active with sailing and golf and construction projects around the house etc. I am now starting to ride a motorcycle so i don't want this arm problem to impede my pursuit of the fun things I like to do.
Maybe I need a good SWEDISH massage - you would know about those !
Take care - maybe some medical professional has an idea what is happening to me.
Regards, Benny
-
At least you are getting better.
And p.s. i don't live in Sweden, i wouldn't mind though.
-
sweden is supposed to be quite a nice country or so i'm told…
-
Yes it is for numerous reasons.
-
benny - i hope you get better
-
Thanks Bod8 - it's not life threatening - just life minimizing when pain etc impedes my enjoyment of activities. My biggest irritation is that our medical professionals are oblivious to the joint cracking problems and their interconnection with the musculo-skelatal problems and their inability to investigate the root causes and develop a 'big picture' diagnosis and prognosis for the problem.
Hopefully you younger persons with cracking problems won't develop these kinds of problems later in life.
Good luck with your cracking.
Regards, Benny
-
BTW - Blaze - your signature says you're leaving on June 4th - going away for a vacation or are you leaving this site?
Have a good trip if it's a holiday and hope you're not leaving the site permanently, you've done a lot of posting in the last year or so.
Regards, Benny
-
Yeh i had joined then didn't come on here for ages otherwise my average per day would be 10+.
I am thinking about leaving.
-
i don't know if i could ever leave this forum - every time i click i think of it lol… well, not every time
-
Blaze it doesn't surprise me u know your average posts per day 8O
Benny your story is unique
with age comes more problems w the body and more muscle pain
it's part of the contract of living 50 years
BUT still your story is interesting
Does Swedish massage bring you relief?
Have you ever heard of MFT- Myo Fascial Therapies?
Or MFR- MyoFacial Relase
The MFR can release adhesions, reduce pain, and seriously improve ROM
Thai massage is also Great but may not be what you need?
MFT , (which includes MFR) also has joint mobilization stretches , and PNF stretches ( proprioceptive nerumuscular facilitation) stretches that can help with pain and lack of motion.Checking into it can't hurt
BUT if I'm hearing you correct, the joint cracking isn't the problem.
It's actually helping you regain ROM each day? -
Not off by heart.
-
Blaze it doesn't surprise me u know your average posts per day 8O
Benny your story is unique
with age comes more problems w the body and more muscle pain
it's part of the contract of living 50 years
BUT still your story is interesting
Does Swedish massage bring you relief?
Have you ever heard of MFT- Myo Fascial Therapies?
Or MFR- MyoFacial Relase
The MFR can release adhesions, reduce pain, and seriously improve ROM
Thai massage is also Great but may not be what you need?
MFT , (which includes MFR) also has joint mobilization stretches , and PNF stretches ( proprioceptive nerumuscular facilitation) stretches that can help with pain and lack of motion.Checking into it can't hurt
BUT if I'm hearing you correct, the joint cracking isn't the problem.
It's actually helping you regain ROM each day?looks like some good advice there MC, as usual
-
MasterCracker - thanks for your reply - I don't know how old you are but if you are my age or there abouts then you would know the difference between age related stiffness and soreness and the problems I am experiencing. Yes I get those too and thanks for the suggested treatments but your last sentence is a re-iteration of what I have previously posted and my wish for this site was to hopefully find either an explanation or others who may be experiencing the same problems and have found a solution. I have been to neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, chiropractors, therapists of all types - physio only - not psychological - lol - hmmm maybe that's next! - have had ultrasounds, extensive bloodwork and other investigative chemistry and Xrays and MRI's and the upshot is that they all say there is something wrong and it's affecting my muscles and joints, they just don't know what could be causing the problem. I have even stopped drinking diet soft drinks due to reported connections with formaldehyde and joint problems. I take a 100mg dose of voltarin daily which is a strong anti-inflammatory to subdue the pain but this will probably eventually cause stomach and liver problems.
In any event, thank you all for your concern and interest in my condition. As I stated, it's not life threatening but life minimizing. I am considering having that total body medical imaging and work-up done - at about $2500.00 it would be well worth it to find out what the problem is.
Regards, Benny
-
Well i would say that MC is :lol:
Yeh that is the downside of not having a free health system.
Chiropractors are bad - don't go to one again.
Maybe if the problem is diagnosed then hypnosis could like do something…?
-
Hey Blaze - aren't chiropractors just professional crackers? At least they get paid - paid well - for cracking joints.
-
Yeh.
But they aren't recognised in the medical field.
The theory of their profession is bogus.
They cause a lot of injuries and hook you.
-
hey benny I'm 31
I get what your saying better now
"my last sentence" was trying to make sure i understood, not reiterate
but I get get it Loud n Clear now
Your 'condition" is more than the effects of aging
AND causes you Great discomfort
how long have u been experiencing this?
Is the condition bilateral (happening on both sides)?
I find it Intriguing that cracking Improves your ROM
I've def never heard of you condition
NOR have the solution
I do have sympathy though
I have scanned most of this site at this point n there are no similar stories I have seen.Do you believe that cracking has helped the situation, created the situation, or is a neutral factor?
-
Just re read your post, sorry if I was redundant in my last post
carpal tunnel syndrome is manifest through repetitive action or 'overuse' of the wrists, fingers and hands not through cracking/stretching/joint mobilization.
it's common in GOLFERS, construction workers,office workers who type all day, and musicians etc.
In fact I would imagine stretching and joint mobilization (which often causes cracks) would help to prevent CTS.
It seems though that you have more of a disease/disorder that is affecting your joints.
Arnica is a great anti-inflammatory.
Best wishes.