Just diagnosed with Chiari type 1. Over a month and a half ago I went in for a massage. The therapist dug way too deep in my occipital cavities. The very next morning the headache began. It hasn't stopped since. Occasionally worse but always 24/7 chronic & constant. Prior to this massage... I never had the symptoms. Could the masseuse manipulated too hard/far?
2015-02-05 05:11:02
Hi! I’ll give you some background knowledge before really answering your questions. Brain has a part called cerebellum which has parts called tonsils. If they herniated through foramen magnum which is an opening in the skull then it can cause pressure on the brainstem and upper cord. The type I Chiari malformation occurs in childhood and becomes symptomatic in adulthood. The type II type is the congenital type. Depending on the degree of herniations these are classified into 3 grades Chiari Malformation (CM) 1 M 2 and CM 3. CM1 is usually asymptomatic and an incidental finding in most MRI. Hence you must be having either CM 2 or CM3 if you are having constant headaches. If medications do not help then treatment is decompression surgery. The type I usually occurs when the back portion of skull develops slower than the brain it encases. Hence with slightest pressure or even without the pressure the cerebellum herniated into the spinal canal. The pressure during the massage may not actually have caused the herniation which may have been there for quite some time. However it may have triggered the symptoms due to pressure on the upper spinal cord and spinal nerves. Do discuss this with your doctor. I sincerely hope you will find this information useful. Hope you get well soon! Good Luck and take care!
2015-02-05 05:11:37
