Risk of bone fracture from cracking joints

Hanoi Watching a video of cracking joints, which is said to help relieve pain, Duc Nam, 30 years old, and his wife tried it but after less than a minute they had to stop because of the pain.

While watching the clip, Nam, an office worker in Cau Giay district, imitated it with his wife. He stood behind his wife, wrapped his arms around her from behind her head to her waist, then jerked hard to make a "crack" sound. The instructor emphasized that he had to take a deep breath, relax, and then exhale strongly. Thinking that he had not applied enough force, he tried again. In less than 30 seconds, he had to stop because his wife said she was straining her muscles and getting cramps.

Not only Nam, many people responded under the video that they followed the instructions and all had pain, possibly due to incorrect technique. But some others agreed, saying that this is an effective method, no surgery or hospitalization required, "just a few sessions and the pain in bones and joints will go away".

In fact, on May 15, Dr. Calvin Q Trinh, Head of the Musculoskeletal Correction Center, Hospital 1A (HCMC), recorded a patient with a fractured 12th rib after two sessions of acupressure and joint-cracking.

Previously, Ms. Xuan, 50 years old, felt tired and had back pain. An acquaintance introduced her to a facility in Thu Duc City, emphasizing that "one treatment will cure the pain without having to go to the hospital". During the procedure, the patient had a sharp pain in her right lower back, but the staff said "it's okay" and continued to crack her joints.

After the second session, the woman was in more pain, unable to walk, had difficulty breathing, and felt tired. She was examined at Hospital 1A. To treat the fracture, the patient had to have laser and use topical painkillers. After 15 minutes, the patient was able to sit up and walk. The patient was prescribed outpatient medication, combined with rest and limited body movement for a month to allow the ribs to heal. After stabilizing, she continued to treat her low back pain and herniated disc.

Some of the popular ways of adjusting bones and joints are spreading on social networks. Screenshot

Dr. Calvin Q Trinh said that chiropractic manipulation, also known as chiropractice, is a fairly common treatment technique for massage and relaxation but is being over-hyped. Many people think that chiropractic manipulation must make a cracking sound to be effective.

However, according to Mr. Trinh, more than half of the people who get chiropractic adjustments will not cry out or react like the patients in the clips on social media. Not to mention, there is no musculoskeletal treatment method that requires the patient to have direct physical contact with the doctor such as hugging the waist or pressing close to the body, which is "very offensive".

At the hospital, before intervention, the patient must be examined and have an X-ray to ensure that there are no problems with the spine. In cases of spinal fractures or stenosis, if the patient is deliberately adjusted, it can easily lead to paralysis of the spinal cord, limbs, bladder, genitals, and even death. When adjusting, the patient's joints are adjusted from head to toe to relax or treat patients with early-stage ankylosing spondylitis. In cases where the joints have not been used for a long time, they are also adjusted to increase the range of motion.

"This method is not used to treat pain caused by mechanical misalignment or herniated discs because it has little or no effect on body posture," said Dr. Trinh, adding that self-cracking (performed at massage facilities by untrained staff) can damage the joints, which over time can develop into degeneration, arthritis or herniated discs.

Sharing the same opinion, Dr. Bui Duc Ngot, Department of General Surgery, Post Office Hospital, said that this is not an orthodox treatment method but just a massage, a relaxing massage. In addition, they perform it mainly on normal people, without any pathology. However, the reason why people easily believe in this trick is because of the psychology of "preferring" non-invasive, non-surgical treatment methods.

In addition, according to Mr. Ngọt, this method brings a feeling of comfort and increases circulation, but in the long term can lead to traumatic injuries, causing joint degeneration and damage. If the impact is strong, the customer can suffer from mild to severe injuries such as sprains, ligament strains, and more severe injuries such as ruptures, severe muscle damage, and sometimes broken bones.

On the other hand, many people mistakenly believe that the sound during massage is due to bones moving or hitting each other, creating a sound. In fact, this sound is due to gas bubbles produced in the synovial membrane of the joint as well as sudden displacement of tendons and ligaments. Some cases of osteoarthritis with worn cartilage also produce a similar sound.

Doctor intervenes to adjust the patient's bones. Photo: Doctor provided

According to the American Heart Association, manipulations that involve force on the neck are dangerous. Dr. Ramin Jahavery, a neurosurgeon at Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital, said manipulations of the neck are more dangerous than manipulations of the thoracic and lumbar spine. When a person turns the neck too forcefully from side to side, it can lead to headaches, dizziness and lightheadedness, and even weakness, numbness, or paralysis on one side.

The New York Times cites a case of a 28-year-old woman who became dizzy and nauseous after a chiropractor massaged her neck. The hospital diagnosed her with four torn blood vessels, which led to a stroke and cardiac arrest. Nine months later, she began to speak again, but she could not walk or swallow. The right side of her body was paralyzed by the injury.

Doctors recommend that people should be alert and choose a reputable hospital for treatment to avoid losing money and getting sick. In addition to adjustment, joint pain can be overcome by massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, and yoga.

Elderly people or those with bone and joint diseases should consult a doctor for appropriate treatment. When the body has abnormalities, the patient should go to the hospital for timely treatment and handling of complications. Absolutely do not self-treat at home or believe in unverified word-of-mouth methods.

Minh An

*Character names have been changed

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