Sternum popping!?!?!?!?

poopypants

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since ive been grabbing larger and larger weights at an accelerated rate this last couple months and more so high reps of dips ive been getting what seems to be an increasing problem....

i dont know how many others have experienced (and is part of why im posting to see if this is norm) this so ill do my best to explain.... your sternum is a joint but for most folks it wont pop likeyour knuckles or knees... mine does, and recently ALOT, and the moreits popping the more it hurts, when it happens its like my chest gets really tight and it usually happens when im in my recliner or cradling my lil boy,with my shoulders and chest pressing concave inwards, then when i go to stand up or set him in his rocker/hand off to moms i cant stretch it out it gets very tight and compressed and i have to pull my shoulders back and tip my head back stretching and eventually get a relieving POP, wich then turns to pain for the next little while.

is this norm? have others experienced this? am i gonna tear my sternum if i keep pushin heavier weight at this rate, or is this going to cause permanent damage from constant popping? if anthing else this is just damn annoying and sometimes fairly painful, any remedies?

thanks for any input guys love to hear it but will be taking this up with my doc as well most likely.
 
ryansm

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I have never had this problem personally but know of ppl who have. Anyway I doubt it's going to cause any long term or delayed problems in the future. So I would suggest to man up! Seriously though perhaps you should try stretching more often specifically before, during, and after you train chest. Perhaps look into Yoga as this has helped a friend of mine with the same problem. Also you may want to take some time off, or perhaps change your training style. Use a slower tempo, or try a different exercise.
 
poopypants

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great advice as always ryan, thanks my man! :thumbsup:
 
ryansm

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I also thought it could be your range of motion, I am a big fan of using as much range as possible for the lift. It allows for the entire muscle group to work through its natural movement under tension. I have found that this allows for better mobility as you gain size. It also works the ligaments and tendons allowing for better stability in the joints.
 
poopypants

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I also thought it could be your range of motion, I am a big fan of using as much range as possible for the lift. It allows for the entire muscle group to work through its natural movement under tension. I have found that this allows for better mobility as you gain size. It also works the ligaments and tendons allowing for better stability in the joints.
i use a huge range of motion... dipping very low (leaning forward on one set, tipping back on the other then pushing straight up on the last), dropping DB's below 90 degrees to get more pull on outside of pecks, setting fly machine on back settings to make tension even at my most relaxed position (prob not good at 295lb flys) and hitting decline and incline all in one night.... i honestly think its this extra stretch im forcing on my frame thats causing the popping and space to be there for gas to even gather... make sense?
 
ryansm

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Yes that makes since. I would lower the weight and slow the tempo. Keep using the same ROM just without as much weight and a slower movement. I think it will not only stop the issue, but allow you to resume heavier weight at a faster pace without the return of the problem.

Except I would first take some time off, and then incorporate those ideas. JMO
 
poopypants

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Yes that makes since. I would lower the weight and slow the tempo. Keep using the same ROM just without as much weight and a slower movement. I think it will not only stop the issue, but allow you to resume heavier weight at a faster pace without the return of the problem.

Except I would first take some time off, and then incorporate those ideas. JMO
sounds great Ryan, thanks for taking some time to help bro. ill prob take a short break from hitting chest and focus on form and tempo then work back up to it while i concentrate on some other body parts.
 

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I actually have had the exact same problem. My sternum will pop and like you said, if I am sitting with my shoulders forward and my chest concaved in, when I stand up it will pop.

A few months, maybe a year ago, It popped and actually hurt the day after and for a while after. I couldn't do any exercises that would stretch my rib cage out too much. Like seated DB tricep extensions (Don't even know if thats the right term for that exercise, I'm talking behind the head DB tricep exercises.) It was almost like I had tendonitis in my sternum. And it would get painful. Eventually I had switched my workout around to where I could get a workout in without pain. And just avoided exercises that would aggravate the problem. I believe there is actually a medical term for the condition, I googled it and the treatment was just like any other tendonitis problem.

But, everything is ok now. It will still pop, like in the morning when I push my chest out. People would think I was crazy when I would tell them about it. But I have no more pain in it. I still get nervous when doing exercises that stretch out my sternum alot.
 
somewhatgifted

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Poop how are the rest of your joints?
 
AnonyMoose

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if you are experiencing the pain you indicate - you might want to see a physician to make sure your zyphoid process is in tack.
 
supersoldier

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Hey bro, I had something similar. I had to see a bunch of docs, because the pain got to be excruciating all the time. The chief of Orthopedics where I was at was the only one that had a clue what it was, and said it was (not sure of spelling) costochondritis (maybe costalchondritis). For me it only got worse and worse. I remember it hurting the most on the eccentric portion of back movements. Read through this...

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/exercise-science/10498-wacky-chest-injury.html
 
sogone2day

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I get this to poops. On flat db bench my chest will pop it doesn't hurt then it actually feel good like it has loosed up something. Only Time it feel bad is on dips it feels like theres a pressure pushed on my chest. It is defintly a wierd feeling.
 
poopypants

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Poop how are the rest of your joints?
crappy, VERY crappy.... my shoulderhae gotten much better, my elbows only dry out a lil form time to time, never any wrist problems, BUT i have tendonitis in my knees with huge lumps right under my knee caps, making sqauts sound lik i have rice krispes in my knees and then in pain for the next couple days after legs, and my ankles just give out and roll during normal walking on level surfaces

its great for snowboarding :rasp:
 
poopypants

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I get this to poops. On flat db bench my chest will pop it doesn't hurt then it actually feel good like it has loosed up something. Only Time it feel bad is on dips it feels like theres a pressure pushed on my chest. It is defintly a wierd feeling.
ya i feel it the very most during dips, im thinking of cutting them out all together even in the future.
 
Distilled Water

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I get this to poops. On flat db bench my chest will pop it doesn't hurt then it actually feel good like it has loosed up something. Only Time it feel bad is on dips it feels like theres a pressure pushed on my chest. It is defintly a wierd feeling.
I had the same problem when I first started to "grow" it eventually went away but really hurt for a few weeks. It then same back again about a year later but has since gine away again. It seems to only happen to me when Im deep into a heavy bulk with heavy weights.

When I get time i'll read that linbk super posted
 
UNCfan1

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ya i feel it the very most during dips, im thinking of cutting them out all together even in the future.
It happens to me after every chest workout. Just like u dips make it worse. It gets really tight and I bend backwards and it pops. Some days it pops alot. I don't know what causes but its annoying but I don't think its anything to worry about.
 

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Guys, this is interesting.

How would y'all describe this "pop"? Does it actually make a noise? Does it hurt?

I've gotten a sudden pressure like sensation right at my sternum a couple of times before. It hits suddenly for like a second, then immediately goes away. It might come back a couple more times. I also get some pain on the right side of my chest when I move certain ways.

Anyone get anything like that?
 
Chemist2234

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my sternum pops all the time prolly 3-4 times a day...i just roll my shoulders back and it cracks and pops all the time...no pain...it feels good actually relieves pressure...saw a doc. about it a year ago, he said it was normal for this to happen with athletic and active people, he said he had seen it many times....i dont think you should have anything to worry about unless it hurts a lot.
 
UNCfan1

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Guys, this is interesting.

How would y'all describe this "pop"? Does it actually make a noise? Does it hurt?

I've gotten a sudden pressure like sensation right at my sternum a couple of times before. It hits suddenly for like a second, then immediately goes away. It might come back a couple more times. I also get some pain on the right side of my chest when I move certain ways.

Anyone get anything like that?
For me it depends on how tight my chest feels. After dips it hurts to pop it, other times during the day its ok. It sounds the same as if I were to pop my fingers. No other pressure anywhere for me.

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning it happens. Depends on how I lay in the bed.
 
Distilled Water

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For me it depends on how tight my chest feels. After dips it hurts to pop it, other times during the day its ok. It sounds the same as if I were to pop my fingers. No other pressure anywhere for me.

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning it happens. Depends on how I lay in the bed.
Yea a few times if i'd sleep on my chest with my arms flared out i couldnt push myself up and it'd hurt really really bad. I freaked out a couple times real bad yelling and stuff because I couldnt bring my arms together, and then maybe 4 sec after freaking out it was almost back to normal. Then after about 2 mintues I was totally pain free.

The freakouts were real bad, the wife would get real scared and got teary eyed one time. I felt like I was paralized with a burning sternum pain as soon as i'd wake up. Def. wasn't pleasent
 

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At one point several months ago I could pop mine by doing a Fly weight like motion. It would hurt sometimes but then it would not, but it would make a loud popping noise. One thing I also noticed was when I sneezed it would hurt my chest bad.

It has since gone away and all I have been doing is exercising. You guys are already to that point but it seemed to help me.

DP
 
Ronnie

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Yea I fly my arms backwards in a quick snap motion and pops my sternum. It has become normal to me just like popping my knuckles.
 
poopypants

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At one point several months ago I could pop mine by doing a Fly weight like motion. It would hurt sometimes but then it would not, but it would make a loud popping noise. One thing I also noticed was when I sneezed it would hurt my chest bad.

DP
this is about where im at, it gone from being 1 or 2 times the day after chest to 4 or more times a day for the next 2-3 days and sometimes it releives pain from tightness other times the pop is so intense and loud that ITS painful just depends, but it has gotten to the point where tright now its painful if i sneeze.

n savage it sounds like a small pop sometimes but then sometimes its touch and saounds like a crack almost like a really loud neck popping.... or back popping but no i have never had some corresponding rib pain....

the only time i ever had rib pain was when i broke a rib having ground n pound sex with my current wifey while we were drunk... true story.
 

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the only time i ever had rib pain was when i broke a rib having ground n pound sex with my current wifey while we were drunk... true story.
Well one thing's for sure- you were definitely on the receiving end of the GnP from the way you describe it.

Hopefully, you were able to get out and get some offense going.
 
poopypants

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lol im not sure how it happened...... all i know is i felt a dull pop and the next day i couldnt breath when it came to sobering up.
 

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I have something similar. Sometimes it pops just once when I pull my shoulders back but sometimes it is really gnarly and sounds like the sternum is ripping apart from something. I can feel it almost slowly separating from the top of my sternum until it reaches the bottom. The accompanying sound is nasty. It is however very relieving and is not painful.
 

Highlanda01602

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Not trying to be a **** whatsoever, but maybe this thread could get some more hits in the exercise science one? Maybe create another there?
You might be able to get some more of the physical training guru's to take a peek at what's goin on... hope all works out for you though - and don't overlook seeing a doctor! Play it safe if you can.
 

IONOI2007

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Hey is this thread still live!

I have been having the similar sternum popping noise. I had been in contact with BigVrunga but there were not too many people on that site. I would like to know if others are still having this issue.

Every week or so I see more hits of people who are now experiencing this pain. Has anyone gotten to the bottom of this? I keep trying new things but can't say that anything has worked effectively. The Cissus Quadrangularis did help some but not enough.

Originally my pain came from weighted dips. Not that I was ever the World's Strongest man but I had made good gains. I never knew that my range of motion would ultimately be my demise.
 
poopypants

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I have been having the similar sternum popping noise. I had been in contact with BigVrunga but there were not too many people on that site. I would like to know if others are still having this issue.

Every week or so I see more hits of people who are now experiencing this pain. Has anyone gotten to the bottom of this? I keep trying new things but can't say that anything has worked effectively. The Cissus Quadrangularis did help some but not enough.

Originally my pain came from weighted dips. Not that I was ever the World's Strongest man but I had made good gains. I never knew that my range of motion would ultimately be my demise.

its funny, dips is what caused this for me as well.

I no longer have the constant popping or incredible pain from getting a really big pop, but everyonce in a while while doing DB presses ill get a pop mid lift but no pain or anything.

pretty much just stop doing dips dude, I dunno if dips will do this to everyone or maybe I was just going to heavy, too deap, or too high of volume but thats def what did it to me so I will stick to a variance of other exercises in order to accomplish the same developement I get with that one exercise. eventually I think your pain and poping will subside and youll be in the boat of occasional pops with the rest of the guys that Ive talked to bout having this in the past. Good luck and I feel your pain brother.
 
Trauma1

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It's likely to be the result of intercostal ligaments playing the role of popping poops.
 
poopypants

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It's likely to be the result of intercostal ligaments playing the role of popping poops.
Ya, I dunno though its a ver profound pop sound and feels like its coming directly from the sternum... not only that but I was able to build up a pop... kinda like swinging your leg to build up a knee pop or having to try a couple time to pop a finger. Its much more similar to the gas release pops you get from other joints then ligiment pops Ive experienced before.
 
poopypants

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luckily it has prectically all but subsided to when I work out and even then its no longer painful.
 
Trauma1

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Ya, I dunno though its a ver profound pop sound and feels like its coming directly from the sternum... not only that but I was able to build up a pop... kinda like swinging your leg to build up a knee pop or having to try a couple time to pop a finger. Its much more similar to the gas release pops you get from other joints then ligiment pops Ive experienced before.
Some intercostal ligaments lead directly into the sternum, so it could give the false illusion of sternal involvement. That could be the issue, but it's tough to say. If it is though, it's very benign. Either way, I'm glad to hear it's resolved though.
 
heebs10

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i use a huge range of motion... dipping very low (leaning forward on one set, tipping back on the other then pushing straight up on the last), dropping DB's below 90 degrees to get more pull on outside of pecks, setting fly machine on back settings to make tension even at my most relaxed position (prob not good at 295lb flys) and hitting decline and incline all in one night.... i honestly think its this extra stretch im forcing on my frame thats causing the popping and space to be there for gas to even gather... make sense?
does your sternum actually move forward and/or backward or is there just a pop without actually significant movement forward/backward? based on the range of movement you describe, it seems more like your clavicle is articulating with your menubrium a little to much. your clavicle articulates with your scapulae and menubrium so extention, elavation, depression, ect of the shoulder to far is going to cause this over articulation of the clavicle with the menubrium. the menubrium(top part of sternum) should only move slightly, the body and ziphoid process should not articulate at all. given that the sternum protects some very vital organs and this problem still exits for you i think its best if you saw a doctor. hope this helps a little, not to sure how familiar your are with anatomy, you might already know all this.
 
KSMA

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I dont know if this helps yall out at all, but I had this problem alot when i was 18 and started lifting heavily. went to a doc to see what was going on, I would wake up every morning and my chest would make almost a combo of a pop/tear sound. Hurt like hell, but like 3 min later I felt ok. He said that when you do heavy chest exercises you can make minor tears to the tissue that connects your pec to the area around the sternum, and the popping is you stretching and tearing that scar tissue. He also said it takes some force to pop hence why a good solid stretch or throwing your arms back will pop it. He added the more/longer you lift, the more frequent it can occur.

Granted I was 18 then, I dont know if he was right, and I still dont, but it sounds plausible at least. Bit of food for thought.
 
Trauma1

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I dont know if this helps yall out at all, but I had this problem alot when i was 18 and started lifting heavily. went to a doc to see what was going on, I would wake up every morning and my chest would make almost a combo of a pop/tear sound. Hurt like hell, but like 3 min later I felt ok. He said that when you do heavy chest exercises you can make minor tears to the tissue that connects your pec to the area around the sternum, and the popping is you stretching and tearing that scar tissue. He also said it takes some force to pop hence why a good solid stretch or throwing your arms back will pop it. He added the more/longer you lift, the more frequent it can occur.

Granted I was 18 then, I dont know if he was right, and I still dont, but it sounds plausible at least. Bit of food for thought.
Great post bro and very much a possibility. I would still probably attribute it to intercostal ligament issues though.
 
poopypants

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wull it may just be... i do remember it was extra tender right where my pcc starts from the inside of my sternum... right where the muscle/ligament contects to the ribs/sternum... but it was a really crazy pop sensation and cery loud, suprised if thats from ligaments but not denying the very large possibility.
 
Trauma1

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wull it may just be... i do remember it was extra tender right where my pcc starts from the inside of my sternum... right where the muscle/ligament contects to the ribs/sternum... but it was a really crazy pop sensation and cery loud, suprised if thats from ligaments but not denying the very large possibility.

Poops, i feel the Murse calling your name!! ;) Murse, Murse, Murse!! haha :squat:
 
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It always surprised me too. I think its the loudest pop my bodies ever made.
 
poopypants

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Poops, i feel the Murse calling your name!! ;) Murse, Murse, Murse!! haha :squat:
LOL it would be cool to be able to self diagnose myself regarding most things... specially considering how prone I am to injuries :frustrate

I think its where Im headed right now.... at least somewhere in the medical feild. Damn good job security specially since they are declaring a friggin recession again.... they are estimating the economy is gonna be the worse then it was in 2001...
 
Trauma1

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LOL it would be cool to be able to self diagnose myself regarding most things... specially considering how prone I am to injuries :frustrate

I think its where Im headed right now.... at least somewhere in the medical feild. Damn good job security specially since they are declaring a friggin recession again.... they are estimating the economy is gonna be the worse then it was in 2001...

Do it buddy......money and job security are the major benefits!!!
 
GuitarHero

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Do it buddy......money and job security are the major benefits!!!
X2 I'm in nursing school now after burning out of the Law Enforcement field...

I got this same thing about 2 years ago (popping with pain), as did my buddy I was always lifting with at the time. We both got it after starting to do dips with extra weight added. I saw a couple of Doctors over the past couple years and they never really diagnosed a real problem. I had chest x-rays and even an MRI but no real structural damage was ever found.

The best I got was that it was likely inflamation of costal cartilage and that it was probably the cartilage popping. It's since subsided for the most part but I still get it in the mornings sometimes, but it's no longer accompanied by pain. I never really realized this was such a common problem.
 
Trauma1

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X2 I'm in nursing school now after burning out of the Law Enforcement field...

I got this same thing about 2 years ago (popping with pain), as did my buddy I was always lifting with at the time. We both got it after starting to do dips with extra weight added. I saw a couple of Doctors over the past couple years and they never really diagnosed a real problem. I had chest x-rays and even an MRI but no real structural damage was ever found.

The best I got was that it was likely inflamation of costal cartilage and that it was probably the cartilage popping. It's since subsided for the most part but I still get it in the mornings sometimes, but it's no longer accompanied by pain. I never really realized this was such a common problem.
Yeah man i hear you. Be careful though, burnout in the medical field can happen just as easily. I wish you the best though in nursing school man. :) God i don't miss it though lol.

Costocondritis?.......Very good point that could also very likely be the issue, but that usually has a very reproducable chest pain with palpation of the area.
 

IONOI2007

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Thanks for your response!

This link hasn't been active for a while and I was surprised to see the activity. I agree that quitting the dips was a step in the right direction. Even months after quitting dips my sternum still kept popping. It had gotten so bad that at one point, my sternum would pop from sneezing and coughing.

Call me crazy but I think cissus helped get me over that hurdle to the point where the sternum popping is not as painful as it used to be.

I was told to keep on stretching and so I did just that. I was popping my sternum several times a day. Every time it felt like a great relief. Its simply an awful feeling when you can't get it to pop.

Finally, I started to wonder if I was over-stretching. Has anyone tried limiting the amount of stretching. I still do stretch before I workout but I don't over do it. I used to stretch to the point where my sternum would pop sometimes several times in one workout. I am trying to see if limiting my stretching will lead to less sternum popping.

I would like to blog my results every few days...Please let me know if I am boring you guys to tears!
 
Hate4TheWeak

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I wouldn't worry to much poops unless there a significant amount of pain involved. I used to get that pop all the time and just now I stretched to see if I would still get it and my sternum also popped really loud. For me it seems to be the most prevalent after intense chest work when I'm really sore but sometimes just a good stretch will do it. So no worries brotha!
 
LakeMountD

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Actually I have had the exact same problem. It was definitely the sternum though because if I pressed in the right place it hurt really badly; it was the same place as the popping.
 
brandoppsx

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You know...I've actually had that happen before too...but this has been before I even got into weight lifting... I just give myself a nice long stretch (just bending backwards as far as I can) and get it all nice and "popped" out. Problem solved.
 

IONOI2007

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My sternum popping just got worse and worse over the period of one year. I stopped doing dips but just sitting wrong would contort my chest and cause it to pop.

I stopped doing dips but I started doing handstand push ups. That only made things worse but at the time I didn't know. And at the same time my bench press was increasing. Until the pain became severe. I was at a point where my chest was popping several times...the relief would be immediate but short lived and then the pressure would build up again. The worse feeling is when the pop would not happen. You stretch and stretch and bend your back as far as you can and still no pop.

This is what happened to me after popping my sternum too often the pain just got worse and worse. I have been scouring the internet for the answer to this problem.
 

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