How to Crack Your Back

Published: 27 August 2014 | Written by some jerk | Print | Email | Hits: 289

Method 1 of 2: Safe Stretches

Try stretching your back muscles without cracking your spine. You might feel tension in your back because of a strained or tight muscle, not a spinal issue. The movements listed in this section will help you stretch your back as a whole, as well as occasionally resulting in popping your spine.
Do a twist stretch while sitting up.
- Sit on the floor with one leg bent and the other leg out. It doesn't matter which side you start with, as you will switch and do both sides.
- Make sure your bent leg's knee is up, with the sole of that foot flat on the floor.
- Place the opposite elbow of the bent leg on the outside of the bent leg's thigh or knee.
- Try to look back over your shoulder on the same side as your bent knee. Push your arm against your bent leg to twist a bit farther.
Do a twist stretch while lying down.
- Lie flat on your back on the floor. If you can manage it, a completely flat surface without carpet is best. (If the floor is too hard, try lying down on a yoga mat or bath towel.)
- Pull your right leg to your chest. Clasp both hands just below the knee to bring it closer. Point your toes on this leg. On the left leg, keep it out straight, with the toes flexed back.
- Place your left hand on your right knee, and stretch your right arm away from your body at a 45-degree angle, palm facing upward. Your right shoulder blade should feel like it's completely flat on the floor.
- Use your left hand to move your right knee across your body. Your right leg should still be bent up to your chest.
- Slowly, press your right knee farther down on the other side of your body, as if you're trying to make it touch the floor. Keep your movements gentle and slow.
- After you've stretched, bring your right knee back up to your chest, and straighten your leg. Repeat the process with your left leg, crossing it to the right side of your body.
Try a kneeling twist. Avoid this exercise if you have bad knees.
- Kneel on the floor, with your knees about shoulder-width apart.
- Hold your arms straight out to your sides, like a T.
- Arch your back slightly and twist, as if attempting to touch your right hand to your left foot and vice versa. If you can touch your feet, great! If not, don't push it! It should stretch your back regardless of how flexible/inflexible you are.
Stretch your back standing up.
- Stand up straight.
- Put your arms in front of you, in a bent position, with closed hands. It should look like you're opening your arms to give someone a hug, but instead with open hands, with fists.
- Swing your arms to the left, using momentum to stretch your back. Then swing to the right. Repeat as many times as necessary.
Stretch your spine. This is a stretch used in Pilates to loosen up your spinal column.
- Lay flat on the floor. A hard floor is best - if it's too hard, lie on a yoga mat or bath towel.
- Bring both knees up to your chest.
- Cross your arms over your knees, so that each hand is clasped to the opposite shin.
- Slowly rock forward and backward on your spine. Keep your movements gentle, and build momentum gradually. Aim to feel each individual piece of your spine on the floor at some point during your rocking.
Use a foam roller to massage your back.
- Pick up a foam roller at a sporting goods or big-box store.
- Put the foam roller on the ground, perpendicular to where you're going to lay your body.
- Lie down so that the foam roller is beneath your shoulders.
- Put your legs into "bridge" position - that is, put your feet flat on the floor, bend your knees, and lift up your lower back.
- Stretch out your legs, or take tiny steps backwards, to move the foam roller down your back. When you've reached the small of your back, reverse the process to move it back to your shoulders. Repeat as many times as necessary.
Stretch your back without twisting. This stretch modifies a yoga position known as child's pose.
- Kneel on a bed, about half your body-length from the edge, with your heels resting on your buttocks.
- Bend forward at the waist, walking your fingers forward until you can just barely grasp the edge of the bed with your finger tips. (Placing your knees at the exact right distance from the edge will take a few tries.)
- Lift your buttocks off your heels slightly so you can walk your fingers forward a bit more and get a solid grasp of the edge of the bed.
- Relax your back into an arch, exhaling completely.
- Slowly drop your buttocks back towards your heels to leverage your weight against your grasp of the edge, with your arched, relaxed back in the middle.

Method 2 of 2: Other Methods

Stretch your back in the morning.
- Place both hands to the back of your head (like how police arrest people)
- Calmly push your head backwards into your hands and arc your spine so that your stomach sticks out and your back should crack, remember to stretch afterwards
Stretch your back on a bed.
- Lie down on your back on a bed, with everything above your shoulder blades hanging off the edge of the bed.
- Extend your vertically over your head.
- Relax your back and let your head and arms sink towards the floor, breathing out entirely.
- After each stretch downward, do a full sit-up to bend your spine in the opposite direction, then stretch back downward, sliding your shoulder blades farther and farther off the edge of the bed each time
- Note that a few centimeters is the difference between cracking a vertebrae gently and putting uncomfortable pressure on it. Feel it out before you stretch all the way down.
Give another person a "bear hug" to crack his or her back.
- Stand face-to-face with a person of equal or smaller size.
- Have him or her take ten deep breaths and relax.
- Lift the person in a bear hug, with your hands clinched into one large fist. Align your clinched hands with the lower centre of their spine.
- As you lift the other person, squeeze gently (like a bear hug). Let him or her gradually fall back down as you alternate pressure, cracking each vertebrae along the way.
Stretch your back lying down.
- Lie face-down.
- Turn only your torso so your right shoulder supports your weight.
- Extend your left arm and stretch in the opposite direction that you're facing.
Use a chair to twist your back.
- Sit facing-forward on a chair. A kitchen chair, with posts on each side, is best.
- Hold the left post of the chair with your right arm.
- Turn your body to the left.
- Repeat using the right post.
Have a friend crack your back on the floor.
- Lie face-down on the floor.
- Have your friend sit on top of you and place his or her palms on both sides of your back, about 2 inches (5 cm) from the spine.
- Have your friend apply pressure, then move up a bit and apply pressure again. Continue until your back feels better (but stop around mid-back - you don't want to injure your shoulders).
Have a friend lift you up from behind.
- Cross your arms across the front of your body and touch the opposite shoulder, so your elbows are crossed.
- Have a friend behind you reach around and grab your elbows
- Have your friend pull your 2 elbows towards the opposite shoulder of the arm while picking you up .
- Your friend should then push your back with his or her chest.
Stretch your back in the bathtub.
- Sit down in a dry bathtub facing the wall. Keep your posture straight and position the tub edge as low in your back as you can.
- Push against the wall of the tub until the vertebrae cracks.
- Slide down lower to position the next vertebrae against the edge of the tub and repeat.
- Continue to slide down over and over to get as close to your shoulders as you can as you get higher along your spine.