04/11/2026
Self-care often leads us down dark alleys, ones in which we might best avoid. Using a massage gun is a pleasant and helpful experience for some, but caution must be at the forefront. Using one of these tools on the front and sides of the neck carries risk, as seen by the studies listed below. Deep, aggressive massage and manual therapy are seen as a necessary process to rid oneself of problems, but there are limits we need to set. Educate yourself to avoid irreparable injury.
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Sulkowski, K., Grant, G., & Brodie, T. (2022). Case report: vertebral artery dissection after use of handheld massage gun. Clinical practice and cases in emergency medicine, 6(2), 159.
Pruthi, A., Santucci, J., Rajagopalan, S., Schumacher, H. C., & Tonetti, D. A. (2025). Embolic stroke associated with handheld electric neck massager: A case report and literature review. Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 34(1).
Pan, J., Wang, J. W., Cai, X. F., Lu, K. F., Wang, Z. Z., & Guo, S. Y. (2023). Intracranial large artery embolism due to carotid thrombosis caused by a neck massager: A case report. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 11(11), 2489.
Shariff, E., Al Ghannam, Z. T., AlDamigh, F. A., AlGhamdi, A. G., AlEisawi, Y. M., Aloqalaa, K. F., ... & Salloot, B. (2023). Home self-massage device necessitates public awareness: vertebral artery dissection associated with a home massage device. Cureus, 15(1).
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