Massive pulmonary emboli after legs massage
Three pages on PainSci cite Jabr 2007: 1. Massage Therapy Side Effects 2. Does Massage Increase Circulation? 3. 6 tales of blood clots dangerously dislodged by massage
PainSci commentary on Jabr 2007: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
This letter to the editor of The American Journal of Physical Medication & Rehabilitation describes a case of a 53-year-old woman with progressively worsening shortness of breath, which started after a “vigorous” massage of her calf muscles at a pedicure shop. She had “filling defects” in “several” lung arteries. She survived this: the emboli were successfully dissolved by anti-coagulants. But a close call for sure.
“Not only can [massage] dislodge an already established blood clot, but, as in this case, it can also predispose an individual to venous thrombosis and subsequent pulmonary embolism. … there is likely underreporting.”
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.
- “Massaging the outcome: an unusual presentation of pulmonary embolism,” Lim et al, BMJ Case Rep, 2009.
- “Leg massage by mother resulting in fatal pulmonary thromboembolism,” Behera et al, Med Leg J, 2018.
- “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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