I believe that what makes the noise when we 'crack' our necks comes from the facets. The pop comes from gasses that are forced out of the senovial fluid when the pressure drops from stretching the joint.
When a joint is 'cracked', it typically cannot be re-cracked until the gasses are again dissolved in the senovial fluid. Because of this, you may be able to learn more from the popping. If you can repeat it over and over, then it would likely be a pure mechanical problem instead of a harmless popping of a joint. (I recently say a news item with another credible study demonstrating that cracking your knuckles leads to arthritis.
Mark
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