Chronic Pain
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Sun, 10/11/2009 - 09:24
Does anyone else hear "clicks" in their head when their back cracks?
I've had this happening for quite some time, and for a while I thought it was probably normal. But people I've talked to don't really seem to experience the same thing, so I thought I would ask here to see if maybe it's related to my spinal issues. I'll try to explain what it sounds like.
Any time I stretch and loosen my back, or it cracks, or my vertebrae are shifting, I hear a "tick" or "click" sound in my head. I'm not talking about the crunch that everyone's back makes when it cracks. This is more like a tinny sound. If you've ever been swimming in a lake and something makes a snap or a boat drives nearby, it's similar to that high-pitched clicking sound.
Does anyone know why I'm hearing that, or what's causing it? Maybe it's normal, but it's just weird. I don't remember always hearing that sound...
-JJ
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I have no idea what you're talking about, so I assume it does not happen to me. Also, my back does not "crack."
How long does the "sound" last? It sounds a bit like tinnitus but I gather the sound does not continue on?
spondylolisthesis at L4-5; stenosis at L3-4 and L4-5
radiculopathy for about 3 years
PLIF (L4-L5)in Jan '08 (PEEK cage, rods & Screws, BMP); continued radiculopathy....
Lami-foraminotomy L5-S1 Jan '09; continued radiculopathy;
Bulging discs L3-4 & L5-S1; crazy screwed-up S1 nerve
***** I have no medical training and am in no way connected with the medical profession, other than doing my part to keep them at full employment. My posts are based on personal experience and knowledge gained through the adventures of living. Take them for what they are worth....
No, it doesn't continue on. It only happens when my vertebrae move/crack. I don't crack my back or have anyone do it, like a chiropractor. It just happens when I stretch. As my back cracks a little when my vertebrae move, it hear those little clicks in my head. It is a very tinny, sort of crackling sound, but it is instantaneous and doesn't continue on after the fact.
Even if I lean forward a little or stretch my shoulders up after I've been stationary for a bit, I can hear my spine move and click a little in my head. It's as if the vibration is moving up my spine into my brain. At least that's what it seems like to me when it happens. I know it sounds weird, and that's why I thought I would ask. Definitely going to bring this up to my doctor as well.
-JJ
For about 6 years I would hear a crackling sound from my spine in my ears with every step I would take !!
I told some of the Doc's and they thought I was nuts !!
but my NS it is nothing to worry about. This is my doctor speaking to me. That doens not mean your circumstances are the same.
Take care.........Paul
Cervical stenosis and myelopathy (most symptoms permanant), DDD, OA, 16 surgeries to date (including 3 level cervical laminectomy, bilateral knee replacements, A-C joint resections in both shoulders), 19 MRI's, and many many many cortisone shots and ESI's
The information provided by members of Spine-Health should never be considered as formal medical advice. It is recommendations based on member's personal experiences only.
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Just recently I have started hearing clicking when I walk. My PM Dr. said that is is arthritis.
38, working mom of 5yr girl
SCS trial a success! Permanent SCS scheduled for 10/29
Minimally-invasive L4-S1 TLIF with hardware on 12/3/08- failed
MRI, discography and CT scan 9/08. Severe DDD L5-S1, large hernaition L4-L5
3 epidurals, radiofrequency ablation, 1 SJ injection, accupuncture, PT, and many others
MEDS: norco, gapaphentin, lexapro, amitriptyline
Surgeries: Laminectomy L5-S1 03 (infection post surgery), Myomectomy 06, sinus surgery 06
Yes, those clicks!! I can't believe there is someone else out there who hears the clicks. My back cracks every time I stretch it a bit too, and every time it cracks it feels like something in my head cracks too. I thought that maybe it's just the sound of the crack traveling upwards and that's why it feels like there is a clicking sound in my head too - but I don't know anymore.
Also, when I walk up the stairs, I feel this very slight rubbing-clicking sound traveling up through my head as well. I know, this all sounds insane, especially to normal people! Please if you bring this up with your doctor, let me know what he/she says. I figure it must be related to our back issues. Or perhaps yet another problem. Yeah, that would be exciting.
I used to always feel relief when mine would crack and pop. Not any more. I'm like perpetual I feel the rubbing popping and sorta grinding sound.
-laminectomy L4-5 6/2006
-MRI-7/16/2008
-disc desiccation @ L3-4 through L5-S1
-L4-5 broad-based central subligamentous disc protrusion
-L5-S1 small central subligamentous disc protrusion causing
slight effacement of the ventral aspect of the thecal sac
-disc desiccation and posterior element degenerative changes
-loads of pain, left leg weak and very painful and gives out(so far I have not fallen)
-currently in PT
-under care of very good neuro for PM since 2003
YES!! Since my lumbar fusion (actually began about 1 year out) my NECK makes snapping/sharp clicking sounds all the time..like knuckle crackiing stuff--so loud sometimes that my kids in class will ask "What was THAT?" Often they are accompanyied by an electrical-type "zap" up to the top of my head...like a lightning bolt from neck to head, & just that fast. Like a metalic sound, like a short/quick jolt-bolt.
NS has no clue. Never had ANY throactic or neck problems b4 the lumbar stuff. But I believe everything is connected & compromised now...& yes, when I crack the fusion area (not on purpose but thru normal movement) my whole spine from L4/5 up will "crack" ending w/ the neck *SNAP*...
Sure makes life interesting!
Terriffic thread! JJ, you are NOT alone in this!
~Lakeside
Nov.'06 Lammy/decompression @L4/L5 for invasive benign lumbar cyst/mass
Life goes on....
Dec.'06 Re-op & another lammy for post-surg spinal fluid leak, leaving nerve damage, instability, spondy,sciatica & neuropathy r. leg/foot,epidural nerve root compression & DDD @ L4/L5
Jan. '08 PLIF w/autograft from iliac crest, 2 more lammies, a discetomy w/ cages & pedicle screws w/ instrumentation @ L4/L5. After almost 2 years now, I am fused , per NS & x-rays. Continued chronic lumbar spine pain from hardware issues, constant sciatica & permanent nerve damage in right leg/foot but hey, I can WALK (like a combo of Walter Brennan & Frankenstein, "FrankenBrennan"..) & teach 2nd grade F/T!
Honestly though I've never really thought about it... I snap, crackle, and pop everywhere... but the description of being 'tinny' --- I know exactly what you mean... sometimes I get that particular kind of crackling at my atlanto-occipital joint, but I get it really often in my jaw when I chew in the morning... -> pretty sure I have TMJ, but I can still eat, and I don't even notice the pain unless I have a headache. So I don't see any point in seeing a doc about it.
20 yr. old Dancer w/
-hypermobility
-SI Joint Dysfunction
-Injury in June 07
-L3/L4 Mild Disc Bulging, Bone Spurring
-L4/L5 Moderate Disc Bulging, Bone Spurring
-L5/S1 Moderate Disc Bulging, Bone Spurring
-SI Joint Bone Spurring
I was told that if I didn't dance for 6 months my discs would heal and I would be able to dance again without pain, but it's now been 10 months and while it's not as severe and I am no longer taking pain meds, I still have back pain. I want to dance again.... or even just the ability to be active again.