topic Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome in Community Chat

Beauty salon stroke syndrome

hoosieroriginal — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:22:00 GMT

A woman claims getting her hair washed at a salon set off a stroke - (hyperextension of neck). Interesting - I know it hurts my neck when I get my hair washed at a salon - very uncomfortable.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/woman-sues-salon-stroke-allegedly-caused-hair-shampooing-37229712

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

cotton4me — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:32:46 GMT

A long time ago salons used to have chairs that looked more like lounge chairs. Your feet were elevated and you were laying back. The neck didn’t get hyperextended. The current system of using regular chairs takes up less space but at what cost? I remember the first time I was shampooed from a regular chair. It was so uncomfortable and I thought how ridiculous it was to force someone in that position.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

MomCat — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:36:14 GMT

Wow. Just wow. This is one of those things where I say - no matter how long I've lived I realize there is still so much I don't know. Wonder if that hair salon had ever heard of this. Thanks for posting.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

WSfan — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:39:27 GMT

This is nothing new. Have heard about this for quite some time now. I'm talking years here.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

chrystaltree — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:39:14 GMT

The video didn't come through, I'll have to see if I can find it myself. But I have indeed heard that this can happen, not that actually did happen. My mom was in her 80's when she passed, she had a heart condition and hypertension and one of her docs told her not to ever bend her head backwards when getting her hair done because it could compress blood vessels and lead to a stroke. She was told to stand at a sink and bend over from the front to get her hair washed. And that's what she always did from sometime in her mid 70's until she passed. i can see how this could happen to a person with a preexostig condition but I don't think it would be the beauty salon's problem in any way. As far as I know no salon gives angigrams before they wash soneone's hair.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

millieshops — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:43:58 GMT

Interesting and scary. Anyone know someone personally who faced this horror? I've been having my hair professionally washed and colored monthly and have never known anyone. For about 30 years, my appointment was in a huge salon with maybe 5 shampoo chairs and 15 strulists and still never heard of this.

How scared should we be?

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

terriebear — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:51:01 GMT

hoosieroriginal wrote:

A woman claims getting her hair washed at a salon set off a stroke - (hyperextension of neck). Interesting - I know it hurts my neck when I get my hair washed at a salon - very uncomfortable.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/woman-sues-salon-stroke-allegedly-caused-hair-shampooing-37229712

I would just generally off the top of my head, after read the link think that this lady would need a lot a luck, and a dumb jury to win her case. Only 250 documented cases of salon stroke? There are probably millions of women in America who get a shampoo every week in a salon an never experience this syndrome. I never bend my neck back at any angle, but simply lean against the sink. Something you might try @hoosieroriginal. My stylist always put a towel on the curve of the sink to cushion my neck also. There are so many reason for a stroke that any lawyer is going to tear this woman apart from high cholesterol, family history, smoking, possible unknown heart disease, amount of alcohol she drinks, and her age. This is my thought anyway...

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Trinity11 — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 21:50:08 GMT

@WSfan wrote:
This is nothing new. Have heard about this for quite some time now. I'm talking years here.

Yes, probably about twenty or so. Every salon I have frequented always has some kind of a brace for your neck ....even some of the less expensive salons. This was addressed at most salons for years.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Another new name Sue — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:01:12 GMT

My salon has the lounge type chairs, where your feet are raised. You mean some salons don't have that any more?

As for the extension of the neck, I think it feels good.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

hoosieroriginal — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:10:19 GMT

@Another new name Sue wrote:
My salon has the lounge type chairs, where your feet are raised. You mean some salons don't have that any more?

As for the extension of the neck, I think it feels good.

@Another new name Sue - my salon does not have the foot raise - but I'm going to ask for towels to be put under my neck from now on.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

hckynut — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:11:12 GMT

@hoosieroriginal wrote:
A woman claims getting her hair washed at a salon set off a stroke - (hyperextension of neck).

Here is a simple medical analogy.

Unless a person has a physical trauma, it is highly unlikely they will rupture a spinal disc bending over to pick up their keys. Years, maybe decades, of abusing their spine is the likely reason. Picking up their keys is the breaking point, not the cause.

Strokes/heart attacks have some underlying cause. Could be genetic/BP/weight/plaque or a combination of things. That person may just be a stroke waiting to happen. Like the ruptured spinal disc, bending the neck may be when the stroke happened, but that person's physical health, is more likely the cause.

hckynut(john)

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Irshgrl31201 — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:19:09 GMT

Anyone can sue anyone. She will need proof for this and that will require more than a medical hypothesis. I feel this is completely outrageous.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Noel7 — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:18:42 GMT

@hoosieroriginal

Thanks so much for posting this, hooserorignal!

I'd never heard of this before, but I do know that, not being tall, I always have to hyperextend my neck in the salon chair.

How can we get around this?

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Irshgrl31201 — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:20:45 GMT

@Noel7 wrote:
@hoosieroriginal

Thanks so much for posting this, hooserorignal!

I'd never heard of this before, but I do know that, not being tall, I always have to hyperextend my neck in the salon chair.

How can we get around this?

Most salons have booster seats (not for kids but for shorter clients) and they also should have different size neck holders for the sinks.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Venezia — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:24:04 GMT

@Noel7 wrote:
@hoosieroriginal

Thanks so much for posting this, hooserorignal!

I'd never heard of this before, but I do know that, not being tall, I always have to hyperextend my neck in the salon chair.

How can we get around this?

Like some others posters, I've known about this for at least 20 years. I had a friend who couldn't risk having her hair washed in the "usual" position (even though she was otherwise very healthy) and she always had her hair washed with her bending forward over the sink. No risk that way.

In fact, that's the way my own hairdresser does it.

(ETA: Decades ago in England, they also stopped the exercise in schools where you roll your head around backwards and down for the same reason. Too much backward pressure on the neck and spine.)

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Deanie — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:24:04 GMT

I was thinking something entirely different when I read the topic of this thread. I was thinking it had something to do with being presented with the bill for the salon visit.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

Ms X — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:25:42 GMT

Well, you can sue over anything. Why is it the salon's fault for not knowing this and not her own? I do agree about those horrible sinks. I hurt my back a couple of years ago and it was killing me to be in that horrible shampoo contraption. I told them I didn't want to stay there long, but they insisted on a conditioning treatment. I was getting very annoyed and finally told them I wasn't going to wait the five minutes. Now that my back has healed, it's not an issue, but the way they set it up is not orthopedically sound.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

justmyopinion — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:27:45 GMT

I've never heard of this syndrome but everyone should become aware of it and use caution in hair salons.

My neighbor had a fatal stroke (58 yrs. old, no health issues, slim and energetic.) She had complained for several weeks about a stiff neck prior to her stroke. She did yoga regularly. Makes me wonder if all those head-stands and other postures exacerbated the problem.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

MaggieMack — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:38:41 GMT

@justmyopinion wrote:
I've never heard of this syndrome but everyone should become aware of it and use caution in hair salons.

My neighbor had a fatal stroke (58 yrs. old, no health issues, slim and energetic.) She had complained for several weeks about a stiff neck prior to her stroke. She did yoga regularly. Makes me wonder if all those head-stands and other postures exacerbated the problem.

I do yoga but refuse to even think about doing head stands, the potential for injury is well documented in the literature. My yoga teacher calls those kinds of postures "stupid human tricks" and relates them to ego needs, unnecessary in any yoga practice.

I have heard about salon strokes for years, as well as strokes from chiropractic adjustments. I believe that these strokes are related to an existing anomaly in the neck (clogged arteries?) and the act of bending back for a shampoo exacerbates the condition. My stylist, although young, is aware of the potential, too, and treats her aging clients with extreme care during the wash.

Re: Beauty salon stroke syndrome

colliegirls — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 22:48:05 GMT

I heard about this ages ago. I used to tease my hairdresser about trying to kill me at the sink. He uses a neck pillow of some sort since some of his older clients complained that their neck hurt while it was hanging over the chair to get over the sink.