Neck Stroke: A 28-year-old man from Oklahoma suffers from stretching and a neck luster

A man from Oklahoma says that he suffered a stroke after being stretched and cracking his neck, tearing an artery.

Josh Hader told CBS News that his neck was painful for more than a week before the stroke occurred, and he thought that sleeping in an uncomfortable position could have caused the pain. The 28 year old player twisted his neck to make him appear one morning and immediately knew that something had gone wrong.

"Just after hearing a pop, everything on my left side has become numb," Hader told CBS News. "It started to tingle … I sort of thought I had a stroke, but I did not believe it."

He could not walk straight and his vision was blurred. He quickly realized that he had to go to the emergency room. Hader's father-in-law took him to Mercy Hospital in Guthrie. "My father-in-law was holding me on the right side, trying to help me, and I remember having almost shot him."

Josh Hader was a victim of a stroke after he fractured his neck.

Josh Hader

Once arrived at the hospital, a group of doctors and nurses converged on Hader. He knew that it was serious and he soon had the diagnosis that he feared: he had a stroke.

Fortunately, Hader's attack did not put his life in danger, but he spent nearly a week in the intensive care unit and suffered from several complications. He started therapy to relearn how to walk, something he said he took for granted. "Just after [the stroke] I was unable to walk without a walker … and a few days later, there were only 10 to 20 feet left without a walker. I would be exhausted, "he said.

The father of two also had trouble balancing his left side, but fortunately he did not lose his strength and was able to overcome this complication. He said that he had tried to stay positive throughout the process. "I do not want to be depressed."

Hader has also posted frequent updates on his health on Facebook, often using humor to alleviate the situation. In a post, he joked while listening to Billy Squire's "The Stroke."

Regarding the cause of the cerebral attack, Hader said that his neck was tearing the vertebral artery. "From what I understand, the vertebral artery runs along your spine and stretches between two bones, so when you crack your neck, you risk getting hurt."

He added that his doctors did not know if the artery was already weakened or if there were genetic factors. "All the doctors I've seen have said they've never witnessed a self-manipulation of this type of stroke." They saw it as a result of a "stroke." a chiropractic manipulation or a car wreck, but no one ever took it to himself, "he said.

Hader said that his doctors always evaluated what had happened and told him not to break his neck anymore. He said that it was hard not to stretch in the morning, which seems natural, but that caused his stroke.

Stroke can often cause paralysis or loss of muscle movement, difficulty speaking, memory loss and many other complications, according to the Mayo Clinic. They can be caused by a blocked artery or by the leakage or bursting of a blood vessel. Hader wants to assure others that his case is rare, but he has certainly not fractured his neck since.