Thai Massage - Joint Clicking?!

[sonic_11uk]

I was curious whether the joint clicking involved in Thai massage is good for you or not. I had a mate tell me that it's nitrogen bubbles escaping which is apparently a bad thing.

However, the massage has health benefits so is it a good thing afterall?

My own joints don't click too easily and it sometimes feels like I'm being dragged around the room in an effort to get my joints to pop.

Does anyone know whether it's good or bad?

Cheers!!!

[Mighty Mouse]

I hate the sound of joints cracking during massage and I ask them not to do it with me.

I have always believed that it weakens the joint but I have heard that no harm is done. I can't however, see how it could be beneficial but I'll be guided by any experts who can tell me otherwise.

[Patex]

If you can"t do it by yourself in a smooth way without rude movements better avoid it!

Only let experienced people massage you! You can destroy more than repair by a massage! And never ever let massage your shoulders/neck in a stinky toilet* - people enjoing their holidays in a corset after such a treatment are legion .

* make sure there are no people standing around in the toilet, they tend to "attack" you in the most unwanted situation...

Patex

[meadish_sweetball]

I love taking new arrivals to restaurants with neck massage and wait to see their facial expressions the first time they come out of the toilet.

As for the joint popping, I dont know. When I was a kid, grandma used to tell me not to pop my joints, but she has been wrong before.

[sierra01]

I hate the sound of joints cracking during massage and I ask them not to do it with me.

I have always believed that it weakens the joint but I have heard that no harm is done. I can't however, see how it could be beneficial but I'll be guided by any experts who can tell me otherwise.

I have also believed that, I thought it stretched the ligaments and would cause problems in later life, arthritis or whatever. If anyone does actually know the answer please post it. I also hate the sound

[mogoso]

I hate the sound of joints cracking during massage and I ask them not to do it with me.

I have always believed that it weakens the joint but I have heard that no harm is done. I can't however, see how it could be beneficial but I'll be guided by any experts who can tell me otherwise.

I have also believed that, I thought it stretched the ligaments and would cause problems in later life, arthritis or whatever. If anyone does actually know the answer please post it. I also hate the sound

Joint clicking is caused by air within the synovial (sp) fluid within the joint. As far as I know it does no harm, and might be beneficial

[Carmine6]

I hate the sound of joints cracking during massage and I ask them not to do it with me.

I have always believed that it weakens the joint but I have heard that no harm is done. I can't however, see how it could be beneficial but I'll be guided by any experts who can tell me otherwise.

I have also believed that, I thought it stretched the ligaments and would cause problems in later life, arthritis or whatever. If anyone does actually know the answer please post it. I also hate the sound

Joint clicking is caused by air within the synovial (sp) fluid within the joint. As far as I know it does no harm, and might be beneficial

A few years ago there was a tv show about astronauts and the head Dr. at NASA said you can't crack your knuckles and be an astronaut, they want nice tight joints. Not sure if that's true anymore and they have special needs with low gravity environment.

Everyone seems to say there's no harm in doing it these days.

[Rinrada]

Dont mind getting my arms rubbed up and down by a couple of local jungle bunnies in a beer bar but as far as the full blown "maa-saa" places are concerned NO thanks.

I used to go to the Win wan on Suk road but soon realised that after a couple of hours being pummeled about,twisted around and almost having my head ripped from the common sense parts of my anatomy I realised that far from feeling "nice and relaxed "afterwards i usually felt bloody sick.....not my idea of fun......

K.wife got her neck massaged by one of the guys outside the irish pub in Anusan market in C.M. about a year ago which gave her severe pain for about the next 6 weeks.....supposed to be good for you.... now shes gunning for him.........ra-wang....

[think_too_mut]

If you have any real problem, like spondilosys, don't let beach masseuses or massage shops touch you.

I made that mistake and the things got worse.

Go to hospital, they have equipment and expertise for the real treatment.

After seeing a doctor at BKK-Pattaya hospital, he sent me to the real thing.

1120B per 30 minutes treatment, only you, electrodes and streching collar.

I felt better and will be going there again. You need it once in a while.

For those enjoying hand massage for fun, great. Don't fall asleep while being treated..

[britmaveric]

Don't fall asleep while being treated..

TTM - why???

[The Dan Sai Kid]

The worst ones are those guys that try and click your neck when you are having a pee in a nightclub toilet. I just make a dash for the cubucles and don't worry about washing my hands after!

[zging]

Hi guys,

Sorry, no "definitive medical answer" here, just what I heard over the years from what I consider reliable sources.

The click (or popping) is a build up of nitrogen bubbles (as previous stated) being burst when you compress the relevant joints in a particular way.

The reasons that 'I' thought it was a bad thing (same as above, what my dear Gran told me) was that it was bone clicking against each other, which then conjours up thoughts of joints, cartellage and bone wearing away. This would obviously be a bad thing. Then I learnt about the Nitrogen bubble thing and it made me rethink Granny's ideas.

HOWEVER, I think that anybody saying categoricaly that it's GOOD/BAD is impossible because I think that it really is a thing from case to case.

The reason why cracking knuckles etc. feels good is that buy forcing these bubbles to burst you're lowering built up pressure within your joints (hence why tight joints are important for space go-ers. expanding gas in the low pressures of orbit could cause problems ) and also STRECTHING muscles and ligaments (mild stretching usually feels good). This IS good for the health and general fitness, as it increases your bodie's flexiblity, circulation etc.

In turn this is why you can fully relax when the massues cracks those vertabrae in your back that have felt locked for the last few weeks... but it doesn't mean that following this by twisting your next half-off is a good idea!

I NEVER let them do the neck thing for me (it looks too close to the break-neck technique used in close combat - and have u seen the size of the fore-arms on some of the women at the massage shops?!) but I love a very heavy massage (i get my girlfriend to walk on my back - and she's not small!) and i love when my back clicks through... eeurghhh... it feels great just thinking about it!

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!

If it hurts (like residual or repeating pain) during or afterwards, then it was probably done wrong, or maybe you and your body should consider not submitting to that particlur position on future massages. You should know your own body, listen to that first, then to what other people think.

I conclusion (sorry, this is longer than I intended) I think that the benefits of improved flexibility, circulation etc outway the possible bad points, but only if you're careful!! There are so many 'untrained' massues out there, you do really have to be careful. For example, my girlfriends mum (who is VERY 'qualified') is the only person I would trust doing the neck twist move (i think that's kinda ironic)

Oh, I also like taking visitors to places where they'll receive and unexpected massage in the toilet!! Priceless

[IMA_FARANG]

I was curious whether the joint clicking involved in Thai massage is good for you or not. I had a mate tell me that it's nitrogen bubbles escaping which is apparently a bad thing.

However, the massage has health benefits so is it a good thing afterall?

My own joints don't click too easily and it sometimes feels like I'm being dragged around the room in an effort to get my joints to pop.

Does anyone know whether it's good or bad?

Cheers!!!

I have been told by many busy-body types that my habit of clicking my joints (fingers, toes, etc) will cause me problems later "when I get older" since I was 12 years old. I am now almost 60, and I haven't seen the effects yet. For that reason I have to vote with the "no bad effects" side.

My understanding is that the click is simply a release of gas around the joints, and totally harmless. However, I expect their will be some expert on here who will tell me differently.

Edited February 10, 2006 by IMA_FARANG

[rio666uk]

so if the cracking sound is due to gas around the joint... why then can i repeatedly "click" my toe...

does that mean that theres a non-stop supply of these nitrogen bubbles manifesting themselves in my toe?

[Orion76]

I love taking new arrivals to restaurants with neck massage and wait to see their facial expressions the first time they come out of the toilet.

Me too, I always warn them that the bathroom of this particular place is a meeting point for gays so just take your leak and don't make eye contact with anyone so they don't get the wrong idea

No matter how many times I do it I always wet myself to see the shock and horror on the newbie's face when he returns from the bathroom

[Orion76]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question437.htm

Joints are the meeting points of two separate bones, held together and in place by connective tissues and ligaments. All of the joints in our bodies are surrounded by synovial fluid, a thick, clear liquid. When you stretch or bend your finger to pop the knuckle, you are causing the bones of the joint to pull apart. As they do, the connective tissue capsule that surrounds the joint is stretched. By stretching this capsule, you increase its volume. And as we know from chemistry class, with an increase in volume comes a decrease in pressure. So as the pressure of the synovial fluid drops, gases dissolved in the fluid become less soluble, forming bubbles through a process called cavitation. When the joint is stretched far enough, the pressure in the capsule drops so low that these bubbles burst, producing the pop that we associate with knuckle cracking.

It takes about 25-30 minutes for the gas to redissolve into the joint fluid. During this period of time, your knuckles will not crack. Once the gas is redissolved, cavitation is once again possible, and you can start popping your knuckles again.

As for the harms associated with this habit, according to Anatomy and Physiology Instructors' Cooperative, only one in-depth study regarding the possible detriments of knuckle popping has been published. This study, done by Raymond Brodeur and published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, examined 300 knuckle crackers for evidence of joint damage. The results revealed no apparent connection between joint cracking and arthritis; however, habitual knuckle poppers did show signs of other types of damage, including soft tissue damage to the joint capsule and a decrease in grip strength. This damage is most likely a result of the rapid, repeated stretching of the ligaments surrounding the joint. A professional baseball pitcher experiences similar, although obviously heightened, effects in the various joints of his pitching arm. But assuming you haven't signed a multimillion dollar contract to constantly pop your knuckles, it hardly seems worth the possible risk to your joints.

On the positive side, there is evidence of increased mobility in joints right after popping. When joints are manipulated, the Golgi tendon organs (a set of nerve endings involved in humans' motion sense) are stimulated and the muscles surrounding the joint are relaxed. This is part of the reason why people can feel "loose" and invigorated after leaving the chiropractor's office, where cavitation is induced as part of the treatment. Backs, knees, elbows and all other movable joints are subject to the same kind manipulation as knuckles are.

[drbones666]

When you cause a joint space rapidly you cause a vacuum. Nature hates a vacuum and will fill it with something readily available: nitrogen gas. The proper term is cavitation.

There was a 10 year study done on habitual knuckle crackers and they found that there was no additional degeneration of the MP joints and so it is deemed not detrimental.

Your spine, however, has discs between the bones which can be damaged by rapid torsional movements. The 1979 Volvo award for biomechanics went to a couple of guys who showed that the combination of rotation and forward flexion is the most destructive action for discs. Golf anyone?

Beware anyone who uses rotational movements when manipulating the spine.

Also, as someone else pointed out, if you have any kind of defect in the spine don't let unqualified practitioners (and be darn picky about the qualified ones) do any kind of twisty, bendy, crunchy stuff to you... then again, it's your body, do with it what you want.