You Don’t Need to Crack Your Back—Your Body Might Be Asking for Stability, Not Mobility
By Dr. Andrew Kakishita | Kinetic Chiropractic – Lehi, UT
It might feel great in the moment to twist your spine and hear that satisfying pop, but if you find yourself constantly needing to "crack" your back or neck, it's worth asking why. The issue might not be that you need more mobility—it might be that your body is actually begging for stability.
Why You Keep Feeling the Urge to Crack Your Back The body is smart. If an area of your spine feels stiff, other areas may start to move more to compensate. These overworked, hypermobile joints are often the ones that release when you self-adjust. That temporary relief? It’s your body trying to relieve pressure, but it doesn’t address the real problem: instability and imbalance.
Many people believe that a loud crack equals success—but volume doesn't equate to value. In fact, repeated self-adjusting can lead to further joint laxity and long-term dysfunction.
Chiropractic Care Is About Balance, Not Just Movement At Kinetic Chiropractic in Lehi, we take a thorough approach to spinal health. When a patient presents with this kind of recurring tension or habit, we look for the underlying cause—which is often joint instability or weakness in the supporting muscles. By assessing posture, muscle tone, and joint function, we can develop a plan that restores proper movement and strengthens areas that are underperforming.
Proper chiropractic care helps reestablish the correct movement patterns. It also reduces the brain’s need to send out that “crack me” signal in the first place. When joints are supported by strong, well-functioning muscles, the craving to twist and pop goes away naturally.
What Stability Looks Like Rather than chasing more motion, we aim to restore balance. Treatments like specific chiropractic adjustments, IASTM (Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization), and corrective exercises all play a role in helping your body feel supported and resilient—without the constant need to twist and pop your spine.
We may also recommend mobility training in the correct areas after we’ve restored stability. Many patients find that once their muscles are properly engaged and their nervous system calms down, they stop feeling the constant urge to “self-adjust.”
Let’s Fix the Root Cause If you're tired of feeling like you need to crack your back all the time, let us help you uncover the actual cause. It might be less about something being "stuck" and more about something being weak.
Schedule your consultation today and take the first step toward real, lasting relief.