How did a crack in the neck leave this woman partially paralyzed?

A young ambulance driver in the UK recently fractured his neck while stretching and found himself partially paralyzed.

On the night of March 4, 23-year-old Natalie Kunicki was watching a movie in bed with a friend after a night drinking; she stretched her neck and heard a loud creak, but she was indifferent because her joints were often cracked, reported the British news website Unilad.

However, when Kunicki tried to walk to the bathroom about 15 minutes later, she could not move her left leg anymore. She was rushed to University College London Hospital early on March 5, where doctors discovered that the neck crack had broken a vertebral artery – one of the main arteries of the neck. This created a blood clot that triggered a stroke, causing paralysis on the left side, according to Unilad. [Strange Stroke Stories: Ebola, Hickeys and Other Weird Causes]

When a person cracks their neck, back, or fingers, the sound is caused by the "snapping" of nitrogen bubbles in the capsules that protect the joints, or by the ligaments that stretch out and stretch out. put back in place, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM). In most cases, this is safe, but if the swelling of the joints is followed by pain or swelling, this could indicate an injury and require medical attention, JHM said.

As a general rule, neck cracks and aggressive manipulations of the cervical vertebrae should be avoided as they can cause breaks in the walls of vital blood vessels that feed the brain with blood, said Dr. Robert Glatter. Urologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said Live Science in an email.

"A tear in the blood vessel wall can lead to a stroke if a blood clot forms at the site of the injury and is released later to block blood flow to the brain," said Glatter. Strokes can cause weakness and loss of sensation in the extremities and can even lead to paralysis in extreme cases, he added.

Neck cracking can also damage nerves, ligaments and bones, Glatter said.

In the case of Kunicki, she did not even try to break her neck: "I just moved out, and it happened," she told Unilad.

Surgeons in Kunicki were able to repair his damaged artery, but they failed to remove the blood clot, according to the reported information. While the blood clot is expected to dissolve over time without causing further damage, Kunicki's palsy persisted in the weeks following surgery, reported The Sun. After a month of physical therapy, Kunicki found movement in her limbs and fingers, although she still has to deal with months of rehabilitation, according to The Sun.

"There is really no sure way to crack one's neck," said Glatter. "In simple terms, it is best to avoid doing so in the first place, in order to avoid any potential complication."

Originally published on Science live.