How to Pop Your Neck in 5 Super Simple and Easy Methods?

After a long and stressful day spent mostly staring at a computer monitor at work, you could end up feeling a knot in your neck when you get home. Instead of being able to just unwind and relax, you now have this concentrated point of tension in your body that is causing you to feel very uncomfortable.

To alleviate that pain and discomfort, you can try popping your own neck to possibly get rid of the air bubble in there that is bothering you. So, how to pop your neck?

Popping your own neck does come with some risks. If you do it improperly, you could sustain an injury that can affect you long-term.

It’s not a bad idea to leave a task like this up to the professionals, but if you absolutely must have relief now, listed below are some methods for popping your neck that are relatively safe and effective.

How to Pop Your Neck in 5 Methods?

Method #1: With A Fist And Cupped Hand

With A Fist And Cupped Hand

Start out by balling your right hand into a fist and then placing it slightly to the right of your chin. Use your right hand to push your chin up and to the left. This should produce the cracking sound.

Now, take your left hand and open it up as you place it on your left cheek and the left side of your chin. Push your head to the right with your open left hand until you hear the popping sound which tells you that you were successful.

Method #2: With Cupped Hands And Long Reaches

With Cupped Hands And Long Reaches

Prior to trying out this method, it would be helpful if you could have your neck loosened up a bit either via a massage or just some stretches.

How to pop your neck in this method? You can now take your left hand and use it to cup your chin. The tip of your chin should end up resting in the hollow point of your hand.

Next, you need to reach around to the left side of your head using your right hand. Grab on to some of the hair surrounding your left ear.

You now have to rotate your head by first pushing up with your cupped left hand and then pulling down lightly on your head with your right hand. This should result in your head turning in a counter-clockwise direction. Push your chin to the left now using your left hand while continuing to pull back on your head with the right hand.

Repeat the same process, but this time, the right hand should be the one cupping your chin while the left hand is reaching around to the right side of your head. Do all the pushing and pulling motions but with the hands switched.

Stretch your neck using this method until you can alleviate the tension. However, if you feel any pain at any point, stop what you’re doing right away.

Method #3: By Lifting Your Head

By Lifting Your Head

To properly execute this tension-alleviating method, you first have to figure out where the uncomfortable spot is.

If the uncomfortable spot is on the right side of your neck, you need to rotate your head to the left, but do so slowly. Continue rotating your head until you get close to your shoulders.

If the pain is on the left side of your neck, you can essentially employ the same method, except you have to rotate your head to the right this time.

Tension at the back of your neck can be eased by lifting your chin and pushing your spine down slowly.

Rotate your head in a circular fashion to continue releasing the tension but stop doing so if you start to experience any pain.

Method #4: With Some Assistance from A Foam Roller

With Some Assistance from a Foam Roller

How to pop your neck in this method? This is the only method where you’ll need a specific item and in this case, what you need is a foam roller.

Place that foam roller on the floor and then rest on top of it. Specifically, your neck should be resting on the foam roller while your back should be flat on the ground.

This next part is a bit challenging as you have to lift your back and the rest of your lower body off the ground while keeping your neck on the foam roller. 

The only parts of your lower body that should be touching the ground are the soles of your feet. While your body is in this position, you should be rolling your neck along the foam roller.

Keep moving the foam roller under your neck until you hear the crack. You can also move the foam roller down to your back if you have some tension there as well.

What You Need to Know about Cracking Your Neck

Whenever you crack a joint somewhere on your body, that results in the joint capsule being stretched. So, what happens when the joint capsule stretches out? The answer is that you get gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide pouring out of it. The aforementioned gases then form an air bubble that quickly bursts. The bubble bursting results in the popping sound.

Cracking your neck is one way to provide relief for certain parts of your body, but this is not a lasting solution. The pain relief you receive from popping your neck will only last for a little bit. If you find yourself in a state of constant pain or even just regular discomfort brought about by tension buildup in that segment of your body, you should have a medical professional check it out.

As mentioned previously, the popping sound you hear when you crack your joints is the result of an air bubble bursting. It is not the result of bones bumping into each other. What that means is that your spine is not being adjusted if you crack your neck. You will still need to see a chiropractor for that.

It is also worth pointing out that cracking your joints will not result in the eventual development of arthritis. There are still some risks associated with cracking your joints, but at the very least, you can rest assured that doing so will not lead to the early onset of arthritis.

If you don’t feel completely safe cracking your neck on your own or even doing so with the aid of someone else, then feel free to go to a doctor who can provide some longer-lasting relief for your joint pains.

Method #5: By Tilting Your Head

Begin by tilting your head to one side and then just let your head hang freely. Eventually, you should hear that familiar cracking sound. You can speed up the process by gently pushing down on your head.

Experiencing pain and discomfort in the area surrounding your neck is truly unpleasant. That type of discomfort can render you immobile and unable to relax.

That’s why it helps to know about the proper methods to pop your neck so that you can be rid of all that unwanted tension. There are risks involved in popping your neck for sure, but if you are cautious with your approach, you should be able to obtain relief from your pain with relative ease.

Billy L. Osorio
 

My name is Billy. I am a computer engineer by profession. So, most of my work is on the desk. In my past days, I had many back pain issues due to a long time sitting, eating, working habit. I did a lot of studies and consulting for overcoming my problem. Now, I am trying to share my knowledge.

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