Ferreira says cracking joints may trigger a release of "feel-good" chemicals, like endorphins, which help relieve pain.
Cracking hips are part of any dancer's paradigm. But repeated popping, however painless, can irritate hip joints and cause problems later on. While most pops stem from muscle tightness that can be mitigated by consistent stretching, some cracks signal more serious problems.
So why do so many people find relief in cracking their knuckles? Cracking your knuckles "feels as if it relieves tension in the joints," Dr. Fackler says. "When that phenomenon happens, it causes a distraction of the joint and separates the joint for a brief second.
Your back isn't meant to be stretched constantly and can tear if overused. This type of injury can limit your mobility. Damaging blood vessels — If you crack your back too much while twisting, you can damage major blood vessels that run up to your brain.
Neck or back cracking: leave it to the pros
While it's probably okay to occasionally self-crack your neck or back, don't have a friend do it for you, because they could apply too much pressure and cause injury.
For the most part, joint cracking and popping are harmless. But if pain, swelling, or stiffness accompanies those noises, consulting a healthcare provider may be helpful. Aging, sports injuries, types of arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and overuse injuries may result in cracks and pops.
If emotional trauma can manifest physically, then, in theory, physical manipulation can release that associated emotional tension. Since the hip flexors arguably carry the biggest load, really getting into them and opening them up can have a powerfully therapeutic emotional effect.
When you hear, or feel a crack, it's simply air pockets that have built up in the fluid “popping” because of the change in pressure. Not only is this harmless but it's very common. It's all part of the treatment, so there's nothing to worry about with cracking after a chiropractic adjustment.
"They find it to feel good or comfortable, or it even gives them some physical release." We should note that when you "crack" your knuckles -- you're not actually cracking anything. "That sound you hear is synovial fluid vapor cavities -- or gas bubbles -- in the fluid around your joints.
These cracking sounds can occur during your neck's natural movements. Sometimes, a moving tendon (tissue that connects muscles to bones) or ligament (tissue that connects bones to each other) can make a cracking or popping noise.
Such tension can result from repeated use of these muscles, which is why dancers are particularly prone to hip popping. Sometimes, a loose piece of cartilage, cartilage tear or pieces of cartilage or bone in the joint space can lead to a hip snapping sensation, as well.
This unconscious tension can be held from one traumatic event, or lots of little events where the stress of feelings like sadness, fear and worry are stored and can get stuck. No matter how you say it, stretching the hip muscles causes a release and allows stored emotion to melt away.
Stretching the hip muscles causes a release; pent-up emotions may resurface, suppressed memories may arise, unconscious tension still held onto from a traumatic event may bubble up. All of which may unleash a seemingly inexplicable barrage of tears.
Fitness professional Chitrakshi Sharma, too, suggested that the “hips are an important storage vessel of emotional stress because of the psoas' link to the adrenal glands and the location of the sacral chakra which processes emotions like fear, sadness, frustration, loss, and worry”.
To sum up, since hip muscles are where emotions are trapped caused by events that switch your fight or flight mode, working on deep tissues in hip-focused postures like pigeon pose can release both physical and emotional stress.
Chiropractors perform hip adjustments using a variety of techniques to restore proper alignment, improve joint function, and relieve pain.
Popping or cracking a joint can help relieve tension that builds up due to lack of movement, Drew Schwartz, DC, a chiropractic physician at Cleveland Clinic, tells SELF. “Your body loves movement,” he explains.
When you begin to feel the urge to crack your back, it's because your back is experiencing a certain level of pressure between the vertebrae, which are the interlocking bones of the spine that help support about half of your body weight and give your body the strength and flexibility to move the way that you do.
The vertebrae in your spine are joints, and as they move, gases can build up. Certain movements or shifts in the spine can help release those gases, which can sometimes make a cracking or popping sound.