alt Hacker News> Curry had a stroke while receiving a massage
This happened to an acquaintance of mine. He had a pain in his neck, and went to a chiropractor. The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot that went into his brain and gave him a stroke. His life afterwards was severely degraded. He was only in his 40s.
I'll never let a chiropractor touch me.
Replies
Chiropractors are cranks but a normal muscle massage is really unlikely to cause a stroke AFAIK. The risks from Chiros as I understand it involve the big "adjustments" where they go for big pops, particularly in the neck.
Back when I was running seriously I would occassionally turn my ankle on uneven surfaces. A local chiropractor "tested" my ankle alignment and concluded I needed orthotics to line up my hips. I purchased them but the delivered product weighed 3X the weight of my shoes and never fit properly.
After numerous visits to correct the orthotic problem, he referred me to another chiropractor who "specialized" in these kinds of things. That chiropractor's office smelled of incense and reminded me of a place I might use purchase a bong, four-hose houka, or Discwasher vinyl album cleaner.
He entered the "operatory" wearing a robe and proceeded to test my "neural strength" by having me create a loop with my thumb and index finger. His test involved trying to pull my fingers apart. He told me I was weak on the same side as the turned ankle. His solution was dietary and recommended a jar of yeast wafers. One a day while the ankle healed until finished.
Purchased them too.
In the meantime, I discovered an ancient remedy involving frozen water which I applied to the ankle with great effect. I also purchased a new pair of running shoes for a third of the price of an office visit and was able to continue running comfortably.
I'm dealing with a relatively minor but annoying back and neck issue and the number of people that have come out of the woodwork to tell me to go to a chiropractor is kind of shocking.
I need actual physical therapy from someone with a credible degree in sports medicine. It's a relatively common muscular issue that I'm pretty confident can be handled with stretching and strengthening routines but nobody has suggested doing that so far.
> The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot that went into his brain and gave him a stroke. […] I'll never let a chiropractor touch me.
This is not chiropractor specific:
> Arterial dissection is well known as a potential cause of stroke in young patients. Vertebral artery dissection occurs most commonly in the setting of minor trauma but has been seen in cases of cervical manipulation. With advances in at-home therapeutic modalities for neck pain came the advent of handheld massage guns. These massage guns have gained considerable popularity in recent years, but their safety for use in the cervical region has not been well studied.
> The chiropractor massaged his neck, which released a blot clot
...or possibly caused the issue: https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-paralyzed-chiropractor...
Yeah. Chiropractors are not doctors, whatever their degree mill happens to say.
edited to remove off topic response
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Hear hear. An alarming amount of people around me have had serious health scares directly caused by manipulation. A friend of a friend was nearly left paraplegic after a sports "straightening" by a well-known local specialist.
A close friend who had an extremely aggressive breast cancer at 35 (and is given to natural cures etc etc) took up acupuncture as a secondary treatment. All well and good until the third session, when the acupuncture people tried to get her to drop out of chemo and radiotherapy to fully commit to their treatments. Alternative medicine as a term should be considered fraud and its more radical practitioners thrown in jail immediately.