facet joint or something else?

[cherylstewart67]

I have had something that feels like it's going to snap when i turn my head to the left. the pain is on the right. it almost feels like a tendon or ligament; could it be a facet joint?

[mmglobal]

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

[mmglobal]

After making the post above, I read a little more. From the Scientific American website linked, there is a contradiction of my stating that cracking your knuckles is harmless. It also mentions other potential sources of cracking that may be repeatable.

A common, related question is, Does popping a joint cause any damage? There are actually few scientific data available on this topic. One study found no correlation between knuckle cracking and osteoarthritis in the finger joints. Another study, however, showed that repetitive knuckle cracking may affect the soft tissue surrounding the joint. Also, the habit tends to cause an increase in hand swelling and a decrease in the grip strength of the hand.

Another source of popping and cracking sounds is the tendons and ligaments near the joint. Tendons must cross at least one joint in order to cause motion. But when a joint moves, the tendon's position with respect to the joint is forced to change. It is not uncommon for a tendon to shift to a slightly different position, followed by a sudden snap as the tendon returns to its original location with respect to the joint. These noises are often heard in the knee and ankle joints when standing up from a seated position or when walking up or down the stairs.

Entire article: What makes the sound when we crack our knuckles? : Scientific American

Mark

[Aaron]

I believe that cracking also has secondary mechanism from inflammation of either joints or muscles/tendons/ligaments. My thoracic has cracked since injury which seems to have origin in an injury vs. joint gasses. Immediatly after my ESI that worked I lost all cracking in the thoracic area. This occured again when that one wore off then had another. I asked doctor about it and he said the muscles were tightened by nerve inflammation and that the joint is moving abnormally due to muscles. I also had same occurence in lumbar with recent injection.

[cherylstewart67]

my whole spine snaps crackles and pops, i am feeling like something is pulling and about to snap. i really hurts. my mri from july 2011 shows facet issue along the whole right side of my neck.