Fainting after massage

[tori687]

I got a swedish massage Saturday afternoon and about a half hour after started to feel a little sick.  It felt like cramps/nausea and came in waves.  I had my period for a few days, but was not feeling bad before the massage at all this month.  About 2 hours after the massage while I was shopping I felt really sick and fainted.  I've never fainted before in my life.  Do you think it was the massage?  Im hoping its not something more serious.  

[caregiver222]

You probably fainted because of the massage.  Massage of the carotid arteries will produce a vagal reaction and cause someone to faint. This was an old technique of stage hypnotists. Decades ago it was standard practice in an ER to massage the carotids when someone came in with an extremely high heart rate (i.e. a cocaine overdose).

This was discontinued and prohibited in a hospital where I worked when it was found massage of the carotids could dislodge clots that could (and did, because this happened in front of me, causing a debilitating stroke in a 50 year old female) cause strokes.

The general rule is never let the masseuse get near the carotids and never use a hand-held vibrating massage device near the carotids.

It is usual for the fainting to take place a short time after the massage. There is a high liklihood a small bit of debri (an atherochlerotic deposit) was dislodged in the carotids and traveled to the brain.

It's above my pay grade to determine the ultimate effects,. but the liklihood is this will be absorbed and won't cause further difficulty.