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Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine

Acute Cervical Injury Following Percussive Massage: A Case Report

Friday, October 24, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM MT
Location: Kiosk 3

    Primary Author(s)

  • Cameron Moon, MD

    Resident
    University of North Carolina Hospitals PM&R Program
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    • Co-Author(s)

  • KB

    Kathryne Bartolo, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor
    University of North Carolina School of Medicine
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Disclosure(s):
Cameron Moon, MD: No financial relationships to disclose
Case Diagnosis: A 33-year-old female with a C5-C6 radiculopathy secondary to a handheld massage gun.

Case Description or Program Description: The patient initially presented to the emergency department with acute-onset left shoulder weakness. She was unable to flex her shoulder beyond 45 degrees and experienced occasional left first-digit numbness after using a handheld massage gun to her left posterolateral neck. A cervical MRI demonstrated muscular edema of the left neck without left-sided neuroforaminal stenosis or central canal stenosis seen in the cervical spine, likely representing a hematoma. Symptoms improved after discontinuing massage gun use, but persistent symptoms returned about one month later. On exam in clinic, she demonstrated 1/5 strength with shoulder abduction and 3/5 elbow flexion, including absent biceps and brachioradialis reflexes. Left brachial plexus MRI revealed mild thickening and increased T2 signal within the left C5 and C6 spinal nerve roots. Correlating EMG confirmed subacute left C5 and C6 radiculopathy.

Setting: Outpatient Spine Clinic

Assessment/Results: The patient experienced an extraforaminal cervical nerve root injury, likely due to percussive massage and potentially aggravated by associated soft tissue swelling in the left side of the neck. Strength in the proximal left shoulder girdle and upper arm along with reflexes improved over 3 months with scapulothoracic rehabilitation and as needed NSAIDS and Acetaminophen. The patient continues to experience left scapular dyskinesia, likely residual from the cervical nerve root injury.

Discussion (relevance): Cervical radiculopathy related to handheld massage devices is not well documented. Percussive massage tools are becoming more common and widely used for soft tissue pain. Although this modality can be beneficial for pain relief, it does have the ability to cause harm.

Conclusions: Cervical radiculopathy is a potential risk of inappropriate and excessive use of percussive massage tools for soft tissue pain.