system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is happening when a chiropractor cracks a patient’s neck/back?
gpt
First and foremost, there's no scientific study that is peer-reviewed that provides any support to chiropractic adjustments except in very specific and rare conditions. Even then, the research is so limited as to not be trusted in those scenarios and says something to the extent "adjustment *may* provide help in this situation".

The popping sound when you crack your back, knuckles, joints in general is nitrogen bubbles bursting in your synovial fluid which is the fluid that lubricates your joints like engine oil to your car. There may be a short relief of pressure in the joint until the bubbles reform which takes about 20 minutes on average. The science supports that any relief you get from adjustments is basically psychological.