Discussion Board

I'm just about 23 years old and my body feels like a 50 year old ex NFL player. My neck is super stiff and cracks like a 90 year old and my wrists crack so loud you can hear it across the room. besides that i have some back issues and minor knee and shoulders problems. Basically everything cracks. Seems like this is just a reflection of overall health. Then i see Pro athletes supposely the top of the top of human proformance get hurt doing think like sprinting in one direction and tearing a hamstring or moving side to side and tearing a knee.

Hard to imagine humans are supposed to be so fagile while wild animals are so amazing with there durability. Or that humans 1000 years ago where so pathetic

Sounds like someone needs to start taking yoga classes!

You just need to get your spine back in alignment. Someone as young as you should not be having joint problems, so it's probably not that. Check out egoscue.com.
There are exercises on his site you can do, plus buy his book and or DVD.(i have both I bought at amazon) I have issues with pain way too much, plus the snapping, crackling and popping..and it's my posture from carrying around so much weight for far too long.
Pete Egoscue's exercises help people of all ages, some people have had pain or discomfort all their lives and do the exercises and the pain is gone. They are shocked. I know I was when I finally managed to do some of them.
Someone on this site mentioned it awhile back and it was one of the best things I've read in a long while. Really helps. Try it. The most you will lose is your cracking and snapping.

The only way she will find out if it IS the spine is to try the exercises. Pete Egoscue has some on his site for free. And I am not affiliated in any way with the site, I just bought the book and DVD.
So if she did the exercises and immediately feels better, then we know it's the spine. If she doesn't feel better, it could be something else.
The worst that will happen with the exercises is she will feel great.

Symphonyofdreams,
I sympathize, since I've had joint problems since my late 20's and am now 58. I agree with Dr. McDougall that diet is the cause, not age.

After playing at the McD plan for years, I have been eating 100% compliant since January and am at a good weight--but still have not been able to get rid of joint pain. In addition to severe intermittent lower back and neck pain, I have "hot spots" (which might be fascia) in thoracic back, terrible pain in joint of big toe (no purines--my doctor tested for them), elbow and hand pain, etc.

An MRI years later diagnosed degenerative osteoarthritis of the spine and 2 discs in my neck were fused at that time. I am a great fan of the Egoscue book and wish that that I'd known about the Pain Free e-cises years earlier. I do Pilates now and feel that my posture is improving greatly, but haven't seen an improvement in my pain level yet.

One of the Star McD'rs said that she did the elimination diet as Dr. McD suggests and was able to be pain free with Rheumatoid arthritis after eliminating wheat, etc. Have you ever considered trying it?