"I Live For The Noise!"

Eddie Izzard skillfully demonstrates many people's preconceptions about chiropractors. Who's Eddie Izzard, you ask? He's a little odd looking, quite funny, and very British (which explains everything).

If you've been to our office, you'll also note that most of Eddie's wisecracks (pun intended) don't apply to a visit to an Activator chiropactor, especially not your friendly local Peoria Activator chiropractor. :)

So how about that noise? When bones crack, what causes the noise? Is that the noise of the nervous system suddenly realigning? Is that what health sounds like? And, if so, why doesn't the noise happen during an Activator adjustment? (Gasp! Maybe Activator adjustments aren't healthy!)

The noise that many chiropractors make when adjusting the bones is called a "cavitation". There are a couple of theories about exactly what that noise is. The most plausible theory follows: every synovial joint is filled with special lubricating fluid, and every fluid has gas bubbles inside, and restricted or non-moving joints get an extra buildup of nitrogen gas, and the gas concentrates in a tiny vacuum within the motionless joint... so when the joint is quickly moved beyond its normal range of motion (but not to an injurious range of motion), the nitrogen gas bubble/vacuum suddenly vaporizes.

A true adjustment may take place without this cavitation noise, for three possible reasons: first, the subluxation might be in an early stage of restriction; second, the doctor's adjustive thrust might not have been fast enough to cause complete vaporization; third, sometimes the adjustment occurs before the doctor's motion carries the vertebra beyond its normal range of motion.

Why doesn't the Activator instrument cause "the noise"? Simple. Since the Activator's thrust is so fast (faster than a human's muscle can react), there is no need to move the vertebra beyond its normal range of motion. In fact, some researchers wonder if the Activator works more by stimulating special nerve endings called "propioceptors" than by actually moving the bone. Either way, the Activator acts precisely and gently, without excessive motion, without the chiropractor jumping on anyone's back, and without needing "the noise."