It seems like many people crack their joints simply because it relieves a build-up of tension, or they find it feels good. Does anyone else feel that it is more than this for them?

My boyfriend can crack the basics: knuckles, neck, and back, and I just love hearing him crack. I don't know if I just like hearing the sound or if it just reminds me of the wonderful sensations I experience any time I crack.. This doesn't only apply to my boyfriend though; if I hear a random stranger on the street crack their knuckles I often find myself sighing in happiness. I most certainly enjoy when my guy cracks my fingers, or I crack his, and I try to employ my mother to help me crack my back any chance I get.

Anybody else get such satisfaction from hearing someone else relieve the tension? It honestly makes me feel like cracking is almost an addiction for me, more of a psychological need than a physical one.

The method I use for wrist cracking requires you to be somewhat flexible, but here it is: I hold my thumb and then bend it backwards, so it pressed right up against my underarm. This usually cracks the wrist, but if that doesn't work, I try pressing the entire hand down towards my underarm.

If the usual methods described here don't seem to be working, get creative! Experimentation can be the best solution, because it seems like everyone cracks differently.

Are you tensing up your back when you try to crack? I find that helps me. Try stretching in different positions. Another unusual method I use to crack my back is to lay on the floor, preferably a hard surface such as a wooden or tiled floor. Grab a hold of your knees and curl them up against your chest, then move as if you're trying to do a crunch. You may have to try doing it quickly to get it to work.

@poppoppop:

The second one does not provide as loud of a pop, and needs you to be sitting in a chair. The top of the chair's back needs to be about level with your middle back. I kind of compress my back against the chair whilst leaning back with my upper back. For me, the perfect chair to do this in is my seat in my Algebra I class. I do not recommend popping your back this way, and have been trying to figure a new way to pop my back.

I can vouch for this method… I used to do the same thing back in high school, but have been sadly unable to find any good chairs for doing this since I graduated. This method has sometimes gone sour on me though: occasionally instead of cracking, it feels more like a "creak", and is quite painful. I'm also searching for a better method of cracking my upper back.

Yes, don't stop just because someone else wants you to. You should only stop if you really want to, or if you find it detrimental to your health (which so far seems to be inconclusive as far as joint cracking goes). I'm lucky in that my family and my boyfriend crack just as much as I do.

Not to be a bubble-burster here, but my experiences with chiropractors were always negative!

The reason I started going was because of chronic pain in my back and neck (very very long story, let's just say I had to have my leg lengthened by 3 inches). Yes, the chiropractor is very good with finding unusual ways to crack unusual joints. I particularly enjoyed having my upper spine cracked. The cracking itself felt good, as usual, but afterwards, I always felt extremely sore wherever had cracked, my neck especially. This is what led me to stop seeing the chiropractor and start cracking my own joints instead.

I find the fourth toe to be most satisfying. The big toe, for me, is one that hurts and feels good at the same time.

I have three methods:

The first one seems to be the common way to do it: sitting down and twisting to the left or right using my hands for support.

The second way is more of a variation of the first, in which I twist my back while standing. I use my arms to get some momentum.

The third method I haven't really heard of anyone else using, but maybe it will work for you. I do it while standing. Lift one leg up and bend it, so your hand holds it against your chest. Then bend your back (to the right if you're holding your left leg, and vice versa). You should feel some pressure, so keep going until you get the crack. This doesn't always work, but when it does it feels quite good.

This has had me puzzled for a while..

I love cracking my thumbs, and I can do it almost continuously. When I first started, I only had one method for effectively getting the topmost joint of the thumb to crack, which was to fully bend the thumb. Then I started cracking it by simply bending the topmost joint of the thumb and leaving the rest of it straight. A few weeks ago I developed a third method: same as the second, but bracing the tip of the thumb against a hard surface (my jawbone works well) and pushing against it as I bend the joint.

So, with three ways to get my kicks, all was well and good. If one method failed, then I could just try another, and then a third if necessary. Here is where my confusion comes in, however. I can crack my thumb, using all three methods, three times in quick succession. It feels like I am cracking the same joint, but how is this possible? I know, at least for me, each joint has a sort of "refractory period" where it can't be cracked again, no matter what I do, for a certain length of time. I can crack the thumbs a lot each day, but not constantly. I'm just wondering how I can do this to get three successive pops in the same joint just by flexing in different ways? And does anyone else experience this?

Each method also produces a rather different feel to the cracks as well. First method makes a deep, satisfying crack or snap, but can't be done as often. The second method produces a sharp sound, and is harder to achieve than the first, while the last method is low, soft, and the least satisfying of the three, but it can be achieved very easily.

This also made me wonder if the mobility or usage of a certain joint affects the rate at which you can pop it. My fingers, toes, and back crack most often, which makes sense considering how much those joints move and work during the day, especially the fingers.

Good news, it's been a few days of constant thumb cracking and the pain seems to have gone away. I suppose it was because I really upped the frequency of cracking (from only a few times a day to nearly every minute). On another note though, it tends to feel a little sore in the morning, but feels much better after a hot shower. Maybe warm/hot water helps with joint pains?