I experience chronic back pain, and often crack my back, due to habit, and because of discomfort. It provides temporarily relief, but often if not almost always does not result in a prolonged feeling of relief. Sometimes when my back "cracks" i feel a sensation in my throat, not necessarily causing difficulty breathing, but a sensation none the less.

What could be causing this? More importantly, since I have been dealing with this pain and discomfort for years now, what can I do to relieve the pain? I have tried NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen) but they do not seem to help. I lose quite a bit of sleep due to this issue as well.

I fear that I have some type of nerve damage at this point that is beyond repair.