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1322157 tn?1279656681

gas bubbles in spine????

I know this is not a pain med question, but I have posted in the other forums.. and no one even responds. You guys have been beyond wonderful helping people with their symptoms... and I am just at a loss. It would make me happy just to hear from someone who understands what I am talking about - maybe someone who experiences the same thing.

Here is the symptom: Sometimes, when my back is hurting a little more than usual (let's say I've been cooking for a few hours as I did yesterday), I will sit and rest my legs on an ottoman. Then I begin to feel what I can only describe as gas bubbles popping in my back (always lumbar where my issues are). They do not increase the pain - but I can feel it popping.

If I were to describe the bubble popping feeling, it would be like when you are pregnant (and I am NOT..LOL) and you get the bubble popping sensation in your stomach (but I feel it in my spine)...

The bubble popping I feel is ABSOLUTELY in my back and even feels like the bones are moving - but I am not moving.. I am just sitting there.

I know this is hard to put into words so others will understand what I am physically feeling- and I will mention it to the doctor next week, but I don't think he will understand what I am trying to describe. (He certainly has NO CLUE what it's like to be pregnant and feel a baby move...haha).

Anyone here ever feel the popping bubbles in their spine? Can you shed some light on this?

Thank you all in advance. As I said before, this forum is the most active AND most understanding!
29 Responses
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Avatar universal
Hello how are you I read your post about bubble feel in lower back I have to much search about this problem but not properly amswer I get  actually I have same issue problem can you tell me about that's what solution or treatment thxx
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Mine is like a fizzy drink when the fizziness and bubbles come to the surface in my neck.   Thank goodness I’ve found others like me. I only got mine after a 50kg weight hit my head.   Ive mentioned it to my Doctor and Neurosurgeon.   Neither have similar symptoms like this.  Yet I find others that suffer from this on the Internet.   I don’t understand why there is no clear explanations given and Doctors are often dismissive.    
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1 Comments
Feels good to feel vindicated because you aren't the 'only one', doesn't it?  :>))  That's the nice thing about these forums.  They have it too.  I'd keep mentioning it to your doctor personally.  You have no other issues that make the odd sensation of bubbling or fizziness a symptom of 'that'?  I guess that is good. It doesn't hurt though, right?  Just an odd sensation?
Avatar universal
Had this happen the other day. I went to my doc years ago and told him a bubble feeling, or baby kicking feeling, neither of which he understood, or cared about. But these things were and still a decade later happen all over my body. I've chocked it up to muscle spasms but this bubble was different. It did start low and travel up my spine. It wasn't​ painful but terrifying. Obviously it isn't intestinal gas? However I often get gas like pains in my shoulder areas. If anyone ever finds out what this bubbling, not popping, is, please tell us!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I feel bubbles in my neck, like carbonanation going up my cervical column to the base of my skull!!! It's not painful but I am now experiencing some dizziness with it!?!?!? What is this?
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1 Comments
That carbonated feeling i have too in lower spine above my crack.I told my dr. It felt like that and she said shes never heard of it.i bet its a nerve.
Avatar universal
Omg I have this condition as well .  I thought I was the only one lol  mine also affected my feet  badly like walking on broken glass .until today I heard a loud pop all pain dissapperedPainfree .first time in months  
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Amen Don Ho!

Oh for those those tiny bubbles - in my wine -  that use to make me feel fine!

~Tuck
Helpful - 0
7721494 tn?1431627964
Tiny bubbles
In my spine
Make me anxious
Makes me crave wine.

Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
Give me chills all over
With the fear that they're gonna
Hurt me  till the end of time.

Ah, those Hula girls on Waikiki ... make me feel fine.

This thread is old folks .. maybe not as old as  a Don Ho Xmas special,  but old enough so that most posters no longer frequent the site.

Before you reply to a post here, read they dates.

Some of the sounds you hear may be crepitus. Some may be caused by gasses moving in and out of phase within the CSF.  Others may be due to ear wax, or a dozen other unrelated phenomena.

People in pain need to learn techniques of distraction and relaxation. We have much to worry about .. Please don't add to it by focusing on little issues. There's plenty to do for ppl in chronic pain from learning how to describe your condition to marching on Washington demanding medical parity of care.

Can you describe the anatomy of your spine? Then what anatomical features could be the source these sounds and how is that relevant to your care?


... Tiny bubbles
Make me think it all over
That my pain needs attention
More than tiny little pops in the night.

Best wishes pain friends.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same popping in my back every day when I lean forward to make my bed and other activites. Like a string of dominoes being knocked over. It doesn't hurt, but I've had years of lower back issues that has improved over time with weight training and exercise. I know the sensation you're referring to, and have also read up on the synovial fluid explanation as that most closely matches the sensation I experience. Also glad to know it's not just me. :)
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Avatar universal
Hi,I feel the bubbles popping too,it happens everytime I lie down ,when I visited the ortho,he asked me to do some excercises to stengthen the core,its been over 10 days now and nothing has changed ,so then I visited the gastro to consult if it was gas but he too ruled that out - so now Im in a confused state of mind,what could it be , Im sure mine is no Kundalini Awakening
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I just had the same thing happen!!! I was laying on my stomach silent and still when I felt the exact same thing you are mentioning.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
It should be a chiropracter that you mention this to but go and dont forget to ask what stretches would help specifically for ur back. Normally ur in and out and just as clueless as going in but i remember my chiro was very helpful after i asked. Id give pointers but everyone is different. I dont want to cause an accident or misalignment. It might help you to learn about chakras. I used to know vague definitions of it but it is good to know. It may motivate you toward yoga. Another problem to address is smoking and overeating. Either one can cause bubbles i believe. Quitting smoking is possible with anesthetics or going under in other words. Oral surgery was my only available method since then i have been drinking four liters of water every day and never alcohol unless its in cooking like beercheese pasta. This should all help but believe it or not i still del with a lot of adjustments to the spine that i do on my own.
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Avatar universal
I felt the same popping sounds every time during an exercise called the "plank" and was told by my trainer that it is air bubbles and nothing to worry about.
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Avatar universal
strange symptoms in spine and tailbone.  Once I sat down, felt sudden sharp pain on tailbone followed by a sensation of sitting on a hard boiled egg inside of me that felt like it slipped deeper somewhere inside. I also feel like bubbles popping and gurgling in lower spine.  Symptoms started three months ago suddenly and have been consistently inconsistent ever since. I never know what I am going to feel when I sit down. Most of the time its pain in the tailbone.  I always have lower back pain.  That's normal for me.  When I press on lower tailbone or spine I don't feel any pain or lumps.
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Avatar universal
Kundalini eh there Silent one? A possibility. This sort of thing "comes up" Ha!---regularly but somewhat rarely during yoga teacher trainings and some of the manifestations can be alarming if you are not prepared. Heat----flashes of light--vivid colors etc. Bubbles!   I am curious as to what you were doing when it occurred SilentTruths?   Om shanti
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hiya, i had this problem a year or so ago and this may sound a bit odd but you can look it up and get a more detailed answer - it sounds like you have Kundalini rising as you have described a classic symptom, wishing you well in your journey! Please Google Kundalini Awakening symptoms xx
Helpful - 0
4058222 tn?1354586755
I have it!!! I have explained it to dozens and dozens of people and no one has ever felt it. I get them various places. It's like you feel it getting ready to pop and it does. No pain, but scary feeling at times. I swear once I even heard a quiet pop like a bubble popping. Weird. I always assumed it was gases. Sometimes it happens when I have pain elsewhere in my body. Tonight I am experiencing it along with lower side pain, and the popping seems to be in that area, lower back right side.
I do not drink or smoke and am in good health.
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Avatar universal
I have the exact same bubbling sensation. Usually when I am mentally or physically stressed. After I ran a 10 k when I lay down to sleep it was just bubbles up my spine one after another rounds. And after a stressful day at work I had the same sensation again. It is painless but troubling!
Helpful - 0
1322157 tn?1279656681
Thanks Tuck!

I googled the info you sent- it sounds like it is describing the feeling people get when they crack their knuckles or have clicking and popping in their joints.

The beginning of the paragraph states: "The firecracker sound made by popping a joint comes from two things: cavitation and snapping. When you twist and bend your neck, you stretch the joints. Inside each joint is a liquid called synovial fluid that contains gases like nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide...."

This may account for the popping and cracking of many of the people who have experienced similar feelings... but the popping I feel is when at rest (no movement) and it's not like the cracking of a joint like a knuckle.

Imagine reclining in a chair - sitting motionless. You begin to feel bubbles in your lower back and they pop like soap bubbles... little fluttering pops. Fluttering... that word just came to me, but it's a very good word to describe the type of popping I feel.

Do you think a fluttering pop (like the popping of a soap bubble) would be the same thing?

(and thanks... I hope I can find the time to be here regularly... I do enjoy sharing thoughts and ideas with everyone on this forum!)
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Thanks for the update....And I am glad you are on the forum today it's always good hearing from you. You were missed!

I still find this so interesting....actually a bit fascinating.  I had a little time and did some searching and reading on your symptoms. I may have found an explanation. At the very least I think this is interesting. From an Internet article:

BEGIN: "Inside each (vertebra) joint is a liquid called synovial fluid that contains gases like nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. This liquid exerts a certain amount of pressure against the ligaments around the joint (called the joint capsule). The stretching causes the pressure inside the joint to drop. When the pressure drops, the ligament gets sucked into the joint and a bubble of carbon dioxide forms. The formation of the bubble creates a popping sound as it comes out of the synovial fluid (cavitation) and increases the volume of synovial fluid temporarily (by about 15%). The increase in volume pushes the ligament back into place creating another popping sound (these occur so fast you hear only one sound). You cannot repeat the snap, crackle, pop for about twenty minutes or until the bubble dissolves back into the synovial fluid." END

I cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. It sounds feasible and was written by a physical therapist that specializes in sports medicine who is also a published author.

So for what's it's worth I thought I would share this with you. I'll be interested to hear all your comments.

My Best,
~Tuck  
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Avatar universal
It's so true that they don't really have answers or concern for things that don't cause pain.  Which, I understand, as the pain is the bigger problem, but I often have little things like that come up and completely forget about them or see them on the list and don't bother with them because they seem so small compared to all that's going on.

I know we're all glad to have you back, Mum!
Helpful - 0
1322157 tn?1279656681
The popping was constant while I was in PT - I haven't had it for a while since I was ordered to stop PT... Although I have the cracking in my back - this was absolutely a bubble popping feeling.

I am so glad to hear that others have had the same thing. I forgot to mention it to the Dr the last time I was there. I go again next week and will ask. I am sure, however, he won't have an answer or be concerned since it doesn't cause pain, only a strange feeling.

By the way - I have been off for a while. Missed talking to you all~~ I will read through some of the older posts, but I pray everyone is feeling ok!!!

Mum
Helpful - 0
655875 tn?1295695107
I have had this happen in my neck.  I have asked about it and the answer I get is the popping noise is due to inflammation in the spine.  Prehaps it could be, I just don't know.  For me it's like a crackling noise and sometimes I hear popping.  I can feel it too.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have had the same thing in my legs.  It's like a twinging or like little bubbles popping or kind of like a TENS but on a much smaller scale and in a bunch of places as if the muscle was carbonated and all of the bubbles were passing through it.  I always thought of it like the fat was getting zapped off my thighs.  It doesn't hurt, just feels like the little cells are popping like tiny balloons or something.
I am guessing it's the muscle building itself, since when we build muscle it creates many tiny tears that re-build and build muscle or something like that.  The TENS works to fatigue the muscle so I'm guessing it's the muscle being tired and rebuilding itself.
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Avatar universal
I have frequent indigestion.  When I lay down I feel bubbles moving in my back as well.  It is actually when I take a deep breath.  I've had it for some time and can't figure it out.  Do you think yours could be gas that you are feeling in your back?
Helpful - 0
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