Leg massage by mother resulting in fatal pulmonary thromboembolism
Three pages on PainSci cite Behera 2018: 1. Massage Therapy Side Effects 2. Does Massage Increase Circulation? 3. 6 tales of blood clots dangerously dislodged by massage
PainSci notes on Behera 2018:
This is case study of a young man who died because his mother gave him a leg massage after an ankle fracture. “Autopsy confirmed the cause of death as pulmonary thromboembolism due to deep vein thrombosis of the leg veins which was dislodged and travelled to his lungs consequent to the leg massage. The treating doctors did not warn the patient of the risk of developing pulmonary thromboembolism.”
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
We report the sudden death of a 23-year-old male with hairline ankle fracture after massage of the leg by his mother. Autopsy confirmed the cause of death as pulmonary thromboembolism due to deep vein thrombosis of the leg veins which was dislodged and travelled to his lungs consequent to the leg massage. The treating doctors did not warn the patient of the risk of developing pulmonary thromboembolism.
related content
- “Pulmonary embolus originating below knee,” Warren, Lancet, 1978.
- “Renal artery embolization after back massage in a patient with aortic occlusion,” Mikhail et al, Nephrol Dial Transplant, 1997.
- “Massive pulmonary emboli after legs massage,” Jabr, Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2007.
- “Massaging the outcome: an unusual presentation of pulmonary embolism,” Lim et al, BMJ Case Rep, 2009.
- “Leg massage during pregnancy with unrecognized deep vein thrombosis could be life threatening: a case report,” Sutham et al, BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2020.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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