Kadison 10 - Habit

Last week I was talking with a couple of friends about whether cracking your back was bad or not. I didn’t think it was; after all, cracking your knuckles is only bad if you do it constantly, and it does not cause arthritis. I didn’t think your back (or neck, or hips) were any different. Turns out I’m wrong. Cracking your back habitually, which I definitely do, is not good for your joints. It can cause excessive wear and tear and can lead to premature breakdowns, at least according to the internet.

But you never know if everything online is true, so I decided to ask my neighbor who is a chiropractor (if you're wondering whether or not he’s legit, both he and his wife have a doctorate in chiropractic, so I figured he knew what he was talking about). He instantly said no, you should not crack your back yourself. The issue is, I crack my back literally all the time. If I’m sitting in a chair during class, laying in my bed at home, or walking out to my car, I stretch and feel that great release of my joints popping. It simply feels good, so it did not even occur to me that it could be damaging.

The solution seemed simple enough: I can just stop cracking my back. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds. I never realized how much I crack my back without even thinking about it, and sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing it. A lot of times I simply turn in my chair, stretch my arms, or lay down, and my back pops. I have started using a foam roller to realign my back, but it still does not have the same effect as moving my leg over my hip or turning sharply.

Everyone has different habits that are difficult to break even if we know they are bad for us. I’ve been guilty of picking my split ends or biting my nails more times than I can count. I personally think that these habits are a release of energy that people have. People tend to engage in these habits when they have extra energy, whether it's caused by nervousness, boredom, or excitement. All of these habits, including back-cracking, involve releasing tension that is caused by this energy. Do you have any habits you’ve tried to break, and have you been successful?