AW FUCK: Having your neck "clicked" to relieve pain could cause a stroke, scientists have warned
58 replies, posted
[quote]
LONDON - Having your neck "clicked" to relieve pain may do more harm than good - and could even cause a stroke, scientists have warned.
The common therapy is "clinically unnecessary" and should be abandoned for an affliction that affects two in three people at some point in their lives, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Its effectiveness divides medical opinion with some doctors even believing it helps lower blood pressure.
Known medically as spinal manipulation, the technique involves the application of various types of thrusts to the lumbar spine for the lower back or cervical spine for the neck to reduce back, neck and other musculoskeletal pain.
However, physiotherapy lecturer Neil O'Connell, of Brunel University, Uxbridge, and colleagues said cervical spine manipulation "may carry the potential for serious neurovascular complications".
Writing online in the British Medical Journal, they added that the technique is "unnecessary and inadvisable."
Neck pain, often caused by stress, affects one in 10 Brits at any one time.
Mr O'Connell said: "Spinal manipulation is different from a gentle massage.
"It is where your neck is extended to its extremity and pushed with force to produce that sudden and familiar 'clickink' sound.
"There have been rare cases where a specific type of stroke has happened within a few days of the treatment which can tear the lining of the vertebral artery in the neck supplying blood to the brain.
"Studies have shown that other types of treatment, such as a gentle massage or exercise, are just as effective without the risks. None of them are a panacea, there is no reliable cure for neck pain, but all provide just the same amount of relief."
He said there is consistent evidence of an association between damage to the major blood vessels supplying the brain, brainstem and upper spinal cord, known as neurovascular injury, and recent exposure to neck massage.
An earlier review of randomised trials of neck manipulation or mobilisation concluded the therapy provides only moderate short term pain relief compared to a dummy treatment or muscle relaxants.
Mr O'Connell said that it is unlikely to offer meaningful long term benefit for people with neck pain.
And other recent large, high quality trials reinforce this message, suggesting massage is not better when directly compared with other physical interventions such as exercise.
Given the equivalence in outcome with other forms of therapy, manipulation seems to be clinically unnecessary, he said.
Mr O'Connell added: "The potential for catastrophic events and the clear absence of unique benefit lead to the inevitable conclusion that manipulation of the cervical spine should be abandoned as part of conservative care for neck pain."
But epidemiologist Professor David Cassidy, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues said neck manipulation is a valuable addition to patient care and should continue to play an important role in therapy.
They pointed to high quality evidence that "clearly suggests that manipulation benefits patients with neck pain" and raises doubt about any direct relation between the treatment and stroke.
When combined with recent randomised trial results, "this evidence supports including manipulation as a treatment option for neck pain, along with other interventions such as advice to stay active and exercise," they said.
Yet they acknowledged when risk, benefit and patient preference are considered "there is currently no preferred first line therapy, and no evidence mobilisation is safer or more effective than manipulation."
They added: "We say no to abandoning manipulation and yes to more rigorous research on the benefits and harms of this and other common interventions for neck pain." AGENCIES
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[url]http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC120610-0000042/Why-having-your-neck-clicked-could-do-more-harm-than-good[/url]
I do it all the time on the train
My Tourette's syndrome makes me do it 10 times a minute. I got to do it EVEN when it's not possible.
It hurts so bad I got trouble to sleep.
So what, I can get stroke now? Have been for some years...
I've been doing this for as long as I can remember.
I'm fucked.
Everything can be linked to a stroke.
I ain't gonna stop doing it.
The article makes it clear that there's no scientific consensus on this and that 'the medical community is divided'. Not saying it's wrong but I'm going to take this with a grain of salt.
[quote]"It is where your neck is extended to its extremity and pushed with force to produce that sudden and familiar 'clickink' sound.[/quote]
My neck cracks by just looking sideways after a day of sitting at my desk.
I was cracking my neck as I read this.
It's become really habitual for me. Guess I better stop doing it.
Clicking your neck to relieve pain? I do it sometimes for just.. stretching.
Well it's not exactly stretching to click your neck, so I guess I won't be doing it anymore.. as often.
oh fuck guys
were all gonna die
who would have thought all of those years looking at a computer screen without moving anything but our hands would ahve had an adverse effect upon our bodily health!?
Hrmm, everything seems to be bad for us nowadays.
I don't think this means just cracking your neck by stretching. It seems more like solely what chriopractors do, where they twist your neck sharply.
I've tried to stop with this shit many times, it doesn't work.
[QUOTE=Gears of duty;36272999]I've tried to stop with this shit many times, it doesn't work.[/QUOTE]
Agreed.
It's the same with cracking my knuckles, arms and toes.
I can't stop! That shit is addictive.
I never do this.
yay.
I guess I'm fucked then...
And just another reason why you wouldn't go see a Chiropractor.
[QUOTE=DogGunn;36273029]And just another reason why you wouldn't go see a Chiropractor.[/QUOTE]
Aren't chiropractors the jokes of the doctor world?
I have the feeling cracking your own neck is letting it get treated as described in the article are not equally unhealty.
Good thing I stopped doing it.
Ok actually I clicked it so hard it hurt for 2 days and I haven't been able to click it since, guess that's a good thing. Though maybe the article refers to more than simply rotating your head around and clicking a bit.
I cracked my neck after reading this.
I think you'll find that my lack of exercise and diet will kill me before this.
Well. Im fucked.
i'm 99% sure every last one of the people who lived beyond the age of 100 clicked their neck whenever they felt like it.
[QUOTE=GeneralFredrik;36273153]Aren't chiropractors the jokes of the doctor world?[/QUOTE]
They're often regarded as such, yes. You'll find many chiro's that dispute it though.
Tweaking the neck... very smart, not.
[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;36272589]My neck cracks by just looking sideways after a day of sitting at my desk.[/QUOTE]
I have naturally a bit "less greased" joints, so sometimes my neck feels like its going to dislocate when I try to turn my head. It hurts too.
Ok, so stretching will kill you now, ok, sounds reasonable.
No more sports for me then! Oh wait, that kills you too....
God damn, I'm gonna die no matter what I do. :(((((
That's weird, all it is is CO2 bubbles bursting between your ligaments.
I got a mate who does it so frequently that he even lets other do it for him.
Nothing like grabbing a guys head and wrenching it sideways to feel that "click".
Not that I [I]enjoyed[/I] it.
Wait a second here!
Does this mean that chiropracticians are potentially risking our lives?
Man, I gotta send a lawsuit to my chiro right now!
Amazing how many people didn't read the thread
[QUOTE]Known medically as spinal manipulation, the technique involves the application of various types of thrusts to the lumbar spine for the lower back or cervical spine for the neck to reduce back, neck and other musculoskeletal pain.[/QUOTE]
Sitting reading this after freshly cracking my fingers, neck, back, and doing my toes as I type.
Fuck.
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