Viral TikTok PSA About Using Massage Guns On Your Neck - BuzzFeed

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Who doesn't love a good at-home neck massage? This picture might look normal, but using a massage gun on your neck is actually incredibly dangerous for your health.​

Recently, over 5 million people watched a now-viral TikTok video of a 27-year-old content creator named Sophie, who shared her recent health scare experience after using a massage gun on her neck for hours.​

@sophie.dolce / Via tiktok.com

In her video, Sophie explained that she woke up with a kink in her neck, and decided to use a massage gun to relieve the pain. "I'm getting my neck, underneath my skull, I'm getting my shoulder, my back, and I'm using it every 30 minutes because it helps temporarily, but the pain comes back. I'm using it from like 8 a.m. until 5 p.m." Sophie said.​

"I end up getting super sore, red, inflamed like all over where I was using it and I was like, 'Oh god, I feel like worse,'" Sophie explained.​

"I'm feeling my neck, and I'm like 'Holy shit, there's a lump...' and I can move it around...and it's protruding," Sophie said.​

After rushing to the doctor, Sophie said that her doctor believed she had developed swollen lymph nodes and warned her about the dangers of using a massage gun on her neck.​

People rushed to the comments to share their own experiences with using massage guns on their necks, with one writing: "Not me having a mystery stroke at 28 and constantly using a massage gun on my neck..."​

This user said: "Within like two seconds of using a massage gun on my neck, I got so dizzy and nauseous."​

This user shared their experience developing vertigo: "I gave myself vertigo for two weeks doing that."​

"Yes! My aunt had a stroke from her massage gun," another user wrote.​

"I've definitely used a massage gun on my neck and my fiancé's neck, so thank you for the PSA!" this user wrote.​

To learn more about the risks of using massage guns on the neck and other areas of the body, BuzzFeed reached out to Dr. Heather Jeffcoat, a doctor of physical therapy based in Los Angeles.​

"You should not use the massage gun on your neck if you are unfamiliar with the anatomy," Dr. Jeffcoat told BuzzFeed. "In addition to lymph nodes, you have your carotid artery, jugular vein, and cervical vertebrae — all of which need to be avoided."​

Dr. Jeffcoat explained that a trained physical therapist using a massage gun would know to avoid "dangerous structures" that could cause potential health problems.​

"It is feasible that the lymph vessels can become inflamed, as occurs when deep lymphatic drainage techniques are applied. If the blood vessels become inflamed, this is known as vasculitis, and can lead to narrowing of the blood vessels," Dr. Jeffcoat told BuzzFeed.​

"If you receive any adverse event (pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, visual changes), you should discontinue immediately," Dr. Jeffcoat warned. "Medical attention may be warranted in some cases. If you are unsure if yours is severe enough, better to be safe than sorry and get to a physician that can rule out the serious issues, like a stroke."​

Dr. Jeffcoat also advised avoiding using massage guns in areas where there are "high nerves, arterial or vein pathways, especially where there is not a lot of muscle mass to protect it, such as the groin, clitoris, behind the knee and armpits."​

"Typically we see injuries of patients going too long and at too high of a speed, leading to prolonged muscle soreness," Dr. Jeffcoat told BuzzFeed.​

"Massage guns have become incredibly popular, but you should have some level of instruction as nothing is without risk," Dr. Jeffcoat said. "There are many ways you can use a massage gun, so go in to it understanding what your purpose is. Then seek the right professional help that can help guide you."​

After a visit to her own physician, Sophie said: "My doctor thinks that what happened is that it’s a lymph node that got inflamed from me using it so much on that area...so I’m getting an ultrasound next week."​

You can keep up with Sophie on TikTok.​

Have you had a health scare while using a massage gun? Let us know in the comments below.​

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