"Shocked" by the trend of cracking bones to treat pain, eating carrots with mustard to "treat obesity"...

A video introducing knuckle cracking. Screenshot

Recently, there has been a sudden trend of cracking joints, TikTok social network is flooded with videos of cracking joints to treat pain and body aches. Various positions of bone and joint adjustment are "performed" by TikTokers who call themselves "online doctors" and "online physicians".

These types of "doctors" also make videos instructing viewers on how to adjust their spines and crack their knuckles and ankles at home.

Break because you like to hear the crack?

In addition to posting a series of videos of their "practice", these people also make instructional videos. The common point of these videos is that when performing the "joint cracking" action, they always create a cracking sound. The cracking sound makes viewers feel scared, as if their bones are broken.

However, many young TikTokers were stimulated and responded, seeing it as a trend, an interesting challenge to follow. Joint cracking videos appeared more and more with the sole purpose of participating in challenges, performing, and attracting views. Among them, a gymer also performed joint cracking movements to create cracking sounds at the request of the online community to attract interactions.

"I live in Binh Duong, have left lumbar scoliosis, anesthesia, please tell me where to get treatment?", "I have a torn shoulder capsule, can I get treatment this way?", "I work at a spa and want to go into physical therapy, do you accept to teach?", although many videos are just for views, they still receive thousands of comments asking for an address to get treatment.

Specialist Doctor II Huynh Tan Vu - Head of the Day Treatment Unit, Facility 3, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - said that cracking joints is a treatment method used in physical therapy. It is also known as Chiropractic, a medical treatment using hands to help relieve pain and restore human motor function. However, not all musculoskeletal conditions can be cracked or straightened, and not everyone can perform the correct professional techniques.

Bevil manVu explains that the cracking sound is caused by the joints moving out of or back into their normal positions. When adjusting bones and joints, this sound does not indicate effectiveness.

"Many patients really like to hear the cracking sound, it is a psychological factor, it brings them comfort, if they don't hear the cracking sound then they don't feel well. In some places, to hit the customer's psychology, people often perform technical adjustments in positions that are prone to making cracking sounds for the purpose of performance, instead of focusing on proper treatment," said Dr. Vu.

Arbitrarily cracking joints, unpredictable harm

According todoctorVu, if you arbitrarily crack your joints to imitate trends, it can easily lead to long-term consequences for your bones.

"For example, the neck area is an important and dangerous area. Improper bone-breaking can cause neck injuries, paralysis of the limbs, or damage to blood vessels, forming blood clots that enter the brain and cause strokes. Overuse of manipulation can cause ligament and joint capsule stretching, destabilize structures, and increase the risk of degeneration and nerve compression."doctorVu said.

Sharing the same view, MSc. Hoang Quoc Nam - Deputy Head of the Department of Musculoskeletal, Thong Nhat Hospital - warned that joint manipulation techniques should be performed when the patient is diagnosed with dislocation, not on people with normal joints. People performing these physical therapy methods must be trained and have expertise, and have knowledge of musculoskeletal diseases.

"Cracking joints can create a pleasant feeling, but if the force is too much, it will damage the ligaments and joints. If done regularly, it will cause the ligaments to stretch, making the joints loose and dislocated, which is extremely dangerous."doctorNam shared.

Bevil manNam recommends that when the body feels tired, do not crack the joints but instead take gentle relaxation measures such as standing up and walking around after sitting for a long time, twisting the body, doing some joint relaxation exercises, and applying warm compresses to the painful joints. If you have musculoskeletal diseases, you should go to a hospital or reputable facility for treatment to avoid wasting money and getting sick.

Stay away from harmful trends

Recently, the "Frozen Honey Challenge" trend has the potential to have negative effects on health, but many Vietnamese TikTokers still respond by putting the honey bottle in the refrigerator, letting the honey freeze into jelly, and starting to eat the frozen honey like eating ice cream.

Although honey is a natural product, the amount of sugar in honey is very high, so eating a large amount of honey will easily cause diarrhea, bloating, and digestive disorders. According to experts, frozen honey also seriously affects problems such as blood sugar, obesity, teeth and gums, and many other problems.

In addition, there are also many bad trends that are still circulating on TikTok in recent times such as: "Eat carrots with mustard to lose weight", "Whiten your teeth at home with baking soda"...

According to experts, TikTok social network users need to be really alert to avoid "challenging experiences" that are harmful to their health as well as not spreading bad and toxic information to many people.

According to Tuoi Tre