Among many viral sensations, neck cracking has grappled TikTok users gaining over 1.9 billion views on the app in total.
Chiropractors have made their mark on the platform, and while many will spend their evenings scrolling through their ‘satisfying’ videos, an expert has claimed it could be more dangerous than you think.
Ever Arias, MD, known online for debunking medical myths and offering health advice, told his followers they should never crack their necks.
The doctor reacted to a viral TikTok of a young girl who broke her neck, she captioned the video: ‘I’m gonna crack my neck, everything will be fine!!!
A TikTok doctor warned his followers to never crack their necks, recounting a horrific tale of a patient with hypermobility who ended up
While many chiropractors would disagree, Ever Arias MD, has said a whole range of difficulties could potentially arise with neck cracking
Showing herself in a neck brace, she adds: ‘Breaks neck with my own hands and spends the first 2 weeks of college in a neck brace.’
The doctor then begins a ‘story time’, telling his 136,200 followers why they should ‘never’ crack your neck.
He explained that a 20-year-old patient had visited the hospital after cracking her neck twice and hearing a snap and having ‘a lot of pain’
He said: ‘She walked into the emergency room after being seen and getting scanned. We found that she had a cervical compression fracture.’
The doctor explained: ‘Basically she was found to have a diagnosis of hypermobility syndrome and because of that she was very mobile.
‘What happened is that she ended up flexing her neck a little bit too much and started having the compression fracture.’
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, a minor compression fracture can be treated with a cervical brace worn 6 to 8 weeks, while a more complex fracture may require surgery and/ or months in a rigid cast.
The doctor added that various problems could arise with neck cracking.
He said: ‘It’s important to understand that if you crack your neck if you got to the chiropractor there’s a couple situations that you could put yourself in.’
He claimed: ‘Sometimes people come in with strokes and they had a chiropractor manipulate their neck and they ended up having a vertebral artery dissection that caused them to have a stroke.
‘You could also cause your own vertebral artery dissection or other injuries to vessels in the structure of the neck
MailOnline has previously reported cases of life-threatening neck cracking. In 2019, a father-of-two suffered a stroke after cracking his neck while stretching.
After hearing a pop, Josh Hader, from Oklahoma, felt numb and was unable to walk straight and was rushed to the hospital.
Hader told DailyMail.com that doctors told him that, as he cracked his neck, he had twisted it so quickly, that he had accidentally torn a blood vessel leading from his neck to his brain, which caused the stroke.
A study, based at the University of California, San Francisco, also found that having your neck cracked could increase the risk of a stroke, the DailyMail reported.
Dr Wade Smith, the university’s associate professor of neurology said: ‘We’re not talking about large numbers of victims – but rare incidences do happen, and physicians and patients should be aware of spinal manipulation therapy as a rare but potentially causal factor in stroke.’
Dr Smith said chiropractors should warn patients of the risk, while some should be screened in advance for symptoms of preexisting conditions.
However, Professor Alan Breen, from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, previously told the DailyMail that sound research proved neck manipulation had no more impact on vertebral arteries than normal neck movements.
He added: ‘It is simply not possible to ‘tear’ a neck artery in the manner suggested by the U.S. researchers. It is extraordinary that anyone, let alone an experienced medical professional, has suggested such a possibility.’
Dr Arias’ popular video has gained nearly 40,000 views, and despite warnings hundreds of people took to the comments claiming they will continue to crack their necks.
‘I crack it everyday for over 15 years. If I don’t I can’t get through the day,’ one user commented.
Another user who admitted to cracking their neck everyday said: ‘If I don’t it feels funny.’
One hypermobile user said: ‘My neck cracks when I take a deep breath!’
Meanwhile, one user asked: ‘Well what should we do if we feel like we have to crack our neck. I get discomfort if I don’t.’
To which the medical doctor replied: ‘Just don’t do it often. Try massaging it first.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk