Cracking the Vertebrae at the Base of Your Skull?
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Hi everybody. New member. I've always cracked my joints every day since I was a kid (in my mid 40's now). It just happened on it's own really and if I didn't do it, they would hurt (mostly my hips and shoulders. Now my sternum too for the last few years). Another new one is what I assume to be my spine very close to the base of the skull (I'm not sure which vertebrae it is but it's just one crack) I've never known or seen anyone else crack this one (that's why I'm on here - was looking up info to see if this is normal/safe to crack etc.) How I do it is I sit cross legged on the sofa and try to relax my shoulders and neck as much as possible. Looking straight ahead I reach both hands behind my head and place the tips of my fingers on the back of my head an inch or two above my spine and a few inches apart. I then quickly push my head forward with my fingers and voila - a HUGE crack from the base of my skull. I keep trying to do it in front of my boyfriend to see if it's actually as loud as it sounds to ME but of course it won't "go" when he's there. LOL.
Does anyone else do this one?
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The first vertebrae below your skull is the Atlas. I can't crack it myself, but there is a treatment I posted about, a while ago, that chiropractors do called Atlas Orthogonal that's supposed to adjust it:
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Interesting - thank-you for showing me that - that must be it. I wonder if it's unusual that I can crack this myself? (and whether my "technique" would work for others or whether it's just a unique feature of my anatomy?) It's one of those ones that I get a HUGE relief from afterwards but sometimes a headache too (same as when I was seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis. A few times I left the office with a migraine after an adjustment).
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Having a migraine after an adjustment or cracking the atlas sounds scary. Maybe, it's letting the signals through the nervous system through that were restricted before the adjustment and it's causes the headache? I had a friend who would have headaches after getting his neck adjusted by the chiropractor afterwards. You may want to consult a doctor about that to make sure you aren't doing any damage when cracking. I don't know if other's can do it. I'm sure there are some out there who can.
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I have been doing this crack of my upper spine for awhile now and I can crack my upper spine 6 times standing up or sitting but I am a pro. I have taught others to do this and the easiest way is to lay down on your back on a somewhat hard surface; like carpeted floors. When laying down on your back put your hands behind your head with interlocked fingers. Relax your muscles and break out, then pull your head forward until your chin touches your chest and try to touch your chin as far down as possible. If this doesn't work you are not relaxing or you are pulling your chin into your chest too far up and not allowing your next to expand. You can also try and pull it to one side once you get real good.
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Having a migraine after an adjustment or cracking the atlas sounds scary. Maybe, it's letting the signals through the nervous system through that were restricted before the adjustment and it's causes the headache? I had a friend who would have headaches after getting his neck adjusted by the chiropractor afterwards. You may want to consult a doctor about that to make sure you aren't doing any damage when cracking. I don't know if other's can do it. I'm sure there are some out there who can.
Sorry, I should clarify: I've had a migraine after an adjustment from a chiropractor - never from doing this Atlas crack myself. The migraines I got after the chiropractor were from this one chiropractor I only saw twice (my regular chiro left the practice). This new guy used to work on athletes apparantly and he wasn't used to working on smaller women (I'm only five feet tall). When he adjusted me he would like, WIND up and then "WHAM" bring all his weight down. It was too hard. I felt sick afterwards and got a migraine both times I saw him….... I've had a slight headache after I crack the Atlas myself but never a migraine from it. When I went to my regular chiropractor (not the "sports medicine" guy) I would often have a slight headache after I left from the adjustment.
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The joint right under my skull will sometimes, occasionally, crack but it's hard to target precisely. It's great when you can feel the stiffness in the joint and have a go at it and it cracks, though! I crack my neck with my hands - one hand under the chin, the other grasping my hair on one side of the back of my skull - or sometimes just pushing my chin outwards and upwards with the palm of my hand (only really works for cracking a specific joint in the middle of my neck, though). I'd like to see how your cracking technique is done (I have tried, following your description, but can't get it to go myself). Self-cracking will always be more gentle than something delivered by a chiro/osteo; you'll always be a litle reluctant to push as far as it can go. But I'm convinced you can't always get the right angle/pressure doing it by yourself.
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I crack this daily, either how you are saying to do so, or:
Lay on my back and interlock my fingers behind base of head and do a "sit up" with only my head.
Or, I am in a sitting position, and I look down at my chest and use my hand and place it on my jaw. I force my chin/head back further down and it pops all of my c-spine.