Crackling Sound In My Neck!!

It sounds like sand is in my neck! Any time I turn my head to the left or right, I hear this grinding/crackling sound (like sand) in my neck.
Do any of you have this? What can it be?
Any responses or ideas are much appreciated. Happy Holidays!

Hi Sherrine,
yes, that is a brilliant way to describe it, Snap, crackle, and pop". So this is suppose to be a common thing with fibromyalgia? None of my joints in my elbows, knees, wrists do this. Just my neck.

I have it too... it is easily relieved if you can do neck exercises.... it's usually from neck strain or keeping your neck in one position too long.

Try googling neck exercises... if you do them frequently, the popping will subside... exercises like looking both ways, chin to chest, etc...

If I tilt my head back I hear a series of cracks.  It has done this since I was diagnosed three years ago but also that was when I started seeing a chiropractor to crack my neck.  He would relieve horrible migraines by cracking my neck but sometimes I feel the chiropractor opened pandora's box messing with the spine because I remember the day my right toe went numb and it's been down hill since then.  I also had a fall three years ago so I'm not sure what triggered the fibro but it makes me wonder....

My girlfriend cracks her neck. That sound drives me up a wall. I find that when I sit at the computer for a long time if I bend my head forward, my neck will crack. I have had more problems in my knees and wrists. I think that this is arthritis. Not sure. But celebrex helps it, so I believe it to be more arthetic than fibro.

I hope you get this resolved. Keep posting and know that we all care.

Hugs, Karen

Wow! My neck has made a sound for years and I never knew what it was. I tried explaining it to chiropractor but he didn't get it. It's hard to explain the noise...it doesn't hurt just every once in awhile I hear something in my neck, starts off loud then gets softer till it stops. It's so weird.

I have it too! I've had it so long I would miss it if it stopped!

My neck is crunchy too. My ankles & toes are poppy. My ears are ring-y.

I have this for last 10 yrs.
Only thing that made it stop...

And i am not recommending anything.

Hormone replacement.
Bioidentical estradiol, testosterone, progesterone.

And i can't even tell you which of the 3 really
Took care of that and the other scairy POP in
My hip and I think it femur bone socket.

Bio HRT is not cheep and constant blood work
and the doctors want cash.

I was desperate though from the sweating and
off the wall anxety all night.

But it too has ups n downs.

I too have the crackling neck! Also, I'm having this sort of pain in the back right side of my neck up in to my head that feels like a very dull headache that affects only the right side of my entire head. This sounds neurological to me but the neurologist cannot find anything to explain it. Ironically enough I'm also having vision trouble with only my right eye and my optometrist cannot find anything wrong with my eye either.

I also have this crazy itching on my upper arms that mostly happens at night. There's absolutely no reason for the itch. By that I mean there's no rash, I haven't changed any shampoos, soaps, laundry detergent, lotions, etc. When this started about a year and a half ago I bought every kind of OTC cream, lotion, etc. and nothing helped. The only thing that would help was to put ice packs on my arms. I literally slept with ice packs on both arms for months. After about 6 months I finally broke down and went to a dermatologist. He said it was neuropathy and prescribed gabapentin (up to 1800MG a day). This has been a godsend. I still get a slight itch every now and then but nothing like it was. Although he says it's neuropathy not one of the doctors that I've seen can explain what's causing the neuropathy. The x-rays, MRI's, brain scan, nerve conduction tests all show nothing and no, I'm not diabetic.

Question - do any Fibro related symptoms show up on an MRI or brain scan or is this illness/disease just invisible to all tests?

A little background - I've been experiencing most all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia for about 2 years now but haven't been diagnosed. I'm currently seeing a Rheumatologist but it's a long process. I've also had Hypothyroidism for 20+ years which has a lot of the same symptoms and I think that's hindering the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. I've never been a sick or complaining person until now but it seems like I'm in a different doctor's office every week. In addition to the Rheumy, the Neurologist, the Dermatologist, and the Optometrist that I've already mentioned, there's also my GP, Endocrinologist, and Orthopedic, all for Fibromyalgia related symptoms. My patience is wearing thin!

I have a good friend who has Fibromyalgia so she's been a great help. A lot of things that were happening to me I didn't even realize were Fibro related until I talked to her. Some of them I thought were just all in my head because there's been some very weird stuff going on. When up to 7 doctors can't explain something then it's weird to me.

I must say that I've found a lot of good helpful information on this forum. Thanks to all! Sorry this was such a long post but I'm new here, just looking for support and to vent.

Yes I know that squishy crackling sound too.. Most people think you are crazy when you tell anybody about it..To describe it to someone who doesn't know what you are talking about explain it like this: It's like taking a few pieces of those "pop rocks" candy and placing them on your tongue and closing your mouth and squishing them around on the roof of your mouth. "That squishy crackle" is the sound we hear in the back of our heads!

I also have this and so have many of my friends that don't have Fibro. Many of us have had help with it from a chiropractor. Stress related in the neck and shoulder area can make it happen, as will being out of align with your hips and such. Our chiro is a specialist in neurology calls it popcorn (gas escaping) when talking to the kids.
Here is some info from The Library of Congress - http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/joint.html

My neck does the same thing! Thank you for sharing this, I was told recently the neck muscles have become "lazy" from not exercising it and was given some exercises to do by my chiropractor.