Hey everybody it's Doctor Jo, and today
I'm going to show you how to crack your
back by yourself, or as we call it
manipulate your back.
Let's get started.
This is an extra-special disclaimer. Do
not crack or manipulate your own back if
you don't know what's wrong with it. It's
really important that you talk to your
doctor or your physical therapist to
know that it's okay because there's
certain diagnosis where you should not
crack or manipulate your back. So make
sure you have a diagnosis you know
what's going on.
I actually recommend having your doctor
or physical therapist do it first and
make sure that you feel okay after it's
done because manipulations can really
hurt your back you're not doing it
correctly and if you're doing it when
you have something where you should be
doing it like a spondylolisthesis or
pars effect, where there's actually
a fracture in there, you're just gonna make it
worse. So make sure it's okay to do. Make
sure you cleared by your doctor or
physical therapist.
Disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer. Okay
Are you sure you got it? We got the
disclaimer out of the way? To start off
with, we're going to go from less cracks
to a stronger crack, if that's the way it
works. A manipulation is when you're
actually realigning that spine. You can
get an audible pop, but you don't have to.
You can feel the pop, but you don't have
to. If you don't feel it, it doesn't mean
that it's not realigning it. So to start
off with, you can use a chair with a
medium to low back.
I like to take a towel to kind of give
you some cushion there. If your chair
already has cushion, that's fine but if
it's something hard like this make sure
you give yourself a little bit of
cushion because depending on where
you're putting your back on there, it
might be slightly uncomfortable, so I
like to give myself a little bit of
cushion back there. Start off kind of in
the mid back depending on where you're
having that pain, or where you need to
actually realign the back. And your
doctor or physical therapist will tell you
that. You can start off just by leaning
back a little bit. If you put your hands
on your head to support your neck, then
you're not irritating your neck because
there's no point in making your back
feel better if they make your neck
hurt, so make sure you're supporting it
and you're being pretty relaxed. The
best part of the manipulation is making
sure that your muscles are relaxed
because if you're trying to manipulate
it and your muscles are tight, you're
actually just going to make it more sore,
so really try and relax the back. And
then just go over the chair like this,
and give it a little extra push back.
Again you might not feel a pop, that
might not quite be the spot. You can
adjust yourself a little bit and then go
back again so this is really for the
mid-back trying to adjust it here, and
then if you want to get really close up
and let it go that way, and then just do
a little push. Sometimes it also helps to
take a deep breath in, and then as you're
letting it out, go back into the chair. So
deep breath in, and then go back that way.
After that you can then just use your
hands when you're doing the manipulation
of the back. Like clasp your hands back
here. What I like to say is it's almost
like a reverse Heimlich Maneuver because
you're doing the thrust up at an angle.
So it's not straight in,
it's kind of up at an angle where
how your spine is lined up. So take it
back there find the spot, you can just
kind of grabbed like that,
relax your back, and then push up and in
to the spot. And then you can move it and
then up in. If you want to go a little
bit lower, up and in.
So again, making sure that it's not
painful. It should never be painful. If it's
painful, stop immediately.
That's why it's important to have your
physical therapist or doctor do it because
then you know it's not painful when it's
done correctly. The next one's going to
be down on the ground using a foam
roller which is a little more intense, so
I would try these first and if those
feel okay then you can use the foam
roller.
So when you use a foam roller, get down
on the ground because you want the
surface to be a hard surface so not on
your bed. You actually need to be on the
ground for this one.
Make sure your knees are bent, don't put
them straight out because then that puts
an extra curve in your back. So bend your
knees, take the role and just place it
kind of in the area where when you lie
down on it, it's going to get that spot on
your
back. And for this again, it's a pretty
intense feeling, so you want to try some
other stuff first to make sure that
feels ok. So come down, just start off
find the spot where it is again hold
onto your head to support your neck, and
then just relax back into that spot. Now
you might feel a pop there, some people
like to roll on it a little bit. I think
that's a little bit intense, but you're
probably gonna get some audible pots
with that. So again if you can relax your
muscles, that's the best way to do it, and
then you can just roll on that spot a
little bit. But my favorite way of doing
it because the way our spine lines up
and where those processes go out on the
spine,
sometimes your rotated a little bit,
that's how you're out of alignment, so
then it's almost like instead of it
being like this with those processes,
it's a little bit at an angle like that.
So I like to put the roll at a little
bit of an angle because then what that
does is the top one and the bottom one,
it rolls it and then it pushes it back
into place. So I like to put it a little
bit of an angle, and then still do the
same thing, and again you can just relax
back or then roll. And I actually got
three or four pops with that one, and
then you could switch it that way as
well and go. So I feel like this actually
gets it a little bit better into
alignment especially if you have a
rotation out of alignment versus just it
needs some adjusting. So I like the
angles a little bit better, and again
make sure you talk your physical
therapist about which way you're
supposed to do it.
The last one is using your legs to get
an extra pressure over to get that
manipulation. A lot of people like to do
it different ways, but my favorite way of
doing it is lying completely down. The
top part of your body needs to stay flat
on the ground, then one leg goes down and
then the other one staying bent comes up
and over. And so keeping the top part
straight, you can take the opposite arm and
kind of put it out to make sure that
shoulder stays down, and then some people
like to take their hands on the top of
the leg and do a little manipulation
like that. But what I like to do, to get
that little bit of rotation as well, is
actually grab on my bottom area so that
I can push down and rotate at the same
time. So I'm taking a deep breath in,
coming out, and then push and rotate at
the same time. A lot of times you again
you'll get that audible pop or feeling
it, but if you don't that's okay that
doesn't mean that you're not getting
that adjustment. Some people also like to
hook their foot in the back of their
knee, that's fine too, or just placing it
on top. If you hook it, then it will stay
on there a little bit better so you can
do that as well, but again grab and kind
of on your butt area so you can push
down and pull at the same time. So push
and pull, and if you want to then go
the opposite direction. So hook, keep that arm
out, grab here,
deep breath in, out, push and pull. And you
might have been able to hear that one. So
there you have it, felt good
no pain. If it's painful, don't do it.
Make sure your physical therapist or
doctor has done at first, it feels ok,
feels better after you do it. It shouldn't
then tighten up the back or feel really
bad. It should feel good,
loose, and you should actually feel in
alignment after that. So if you have any
questions, leave them in the comments section.
If you'd like check out some other videos
go to askdoctorjo.com And remember be
safe (make sure your doctor or physical
therapist says it's okay), have fun (get your back
in alignment), and
I hope you feel better soon.