Question
Dear Dr. Rozeboom,
  I have a history of minor scoliosis in my upper back and degenerative disks in my lower back.  This morning I was "cracking" my back--(you know when you turn your torso from side to side like the "washing machine" motion)and my back didn't crack, it just did a very exaggerated turn and made a type of pulling/strained cracking type noise and then I felt pain in that area where I turned (thoracic area).  It sounded like I might have rotated too much.  I turned pretty far when I did it...really large rotation. My question is, is it possible to break your back, damage vertebrae or damage the spinal cord --like pulling the little nerves away from the bone--by cracking your back and going too far with the maneuver? I felt like a slight numbness in my left hand right after it happened but it then went away.  It's important to note when I did the rotation, I didn't exactly do it slow...it was pretty fast and rough turn, then I slowed down once I didn't hear the familiar crack and realized that I had probably gone too far. I'm just worried now. I don't want to give myself paralysis or damage to my spinal cord.  Please help.  I'm very worried and uncomfortable.  

Answer
Sharon:

Thanks for writing!

It is almost impossible to injure yourself doing the maneuver you describe but it sound like you were able to do the impossible.

I suspect your ligaments are also getting weak. Is your estrogen high? This would weaken ligaments as would the Standard American Diet (SAD).

As this point, I would try turning it the other way and see if it relieves the pain. Gently and slowly, of course.

Your best solution would be to see a good chiropractor and get some xrays of your spine and a chiropractic Examination.

Go to www.sorsi.com or www.icak.com and see if you can find one near you.

Does this answer your question?

Dr. Rozeboom