People who like neck massage or who practice violent neck tilting, to ease muscle or back tension, should be aware of the potential risk of paralysis, according to Professor Dr. Thiravat Hemachudha, an advisor to the College of Oriental Medicine at Rangsit University.
His warning came after the death of a well-known Thai singer, Chayada Praohom, who suffered paralysis and became bed-ridden following several back and neck massage sessions.
In her Facebook post on November 6th, Chayada recalled her experience of going for a neck massage in Udon Thani province, after she felt pain in her shoulders and neck. A week later, however, she began to feel numbness in her legs and went to see the same masseuse for another neck massage.
Two weeks later, she said she was in so much pain that she could hardly sleep and went to see a second masseuse, but her pain persisted and she had to take pain killers. She added that the numbness had spread to her stomach, chest and legs.
Later, she said that she became so weak that she could not lift her arms or move her legs and, eventually, found herself bed-ridden.
Dr. Thiravat quoted a report by 177 American neurologists,who said they had encountered 55 patients, aged between 21and 60, who became paralysed after having undergone neck therapy.
He said that neck therapy, by massaging, may have an impact on blood vessels leading to and from the brain, adding that he has treated patients himself who regularly practiced tilting of the neck, believing that it would strengthen the muscles.
He cited the case of one patient, who had to be hospitalised for months for treatment and rehabilitation for paralysis caused by his regular habit of tilting his neck.
He advised that violent neck tilting may overly stress important blood vessels, leading to a thrombosis (blood clot) forming in veins, through which blood flows to the brain.
