With rise in popularity of massage parlours and spas across the country that offer a variety of treatments right from hot stone massages to pain-relief therapies, orthopedic doctors warn of a dangerous trend that is on the rise parallelly.
These massages if done incorrectly can do more harm than good. Orthopedists say that from rib fractures to ankle injuries and even serious burn cases, they have seen patients 'suffer' at the hands of many massage therapists.
Founder of Spinaology Clinic, Dr Kiran Shete, has seen cases where patients suffered permanent neck injury and even rib-cage fractures at hands of masseurs.
"I have seen a housewife who came with severe pain in left midback area. On examination, I found tenderness of ninth rib and an X-ray examination confirmed the fracture. She then revealed that she had hired a home therapist for back pain. I have seen patients who took hot stone massages and got scars due to burns at areas of treatment while in one case, a patient has a permanent injury in his neck to one side due to a a wrong massage therapy," said Shethe.
Another orthopedic surgeon Dr Ketan Khurjekar agreed that doctors and not masseurs should be the first point of contact for aches and pains, as in latter case, situation could be worsened in case of undiagnosed problem.
"I have seen patients with a herniated disc who didn't even know about their problem and dismissed it as some pain going to a masseur for pain relief and later coming back with serious spinal injury. In massage techniques like hot stone massages, especially in cases of herniated disc, I have seen patients coming back with burn injuries on spine and buttocks that last for weeks," he said.
Khurjekar added that in case of osteoporosis, bones are already fragile and 'hard' massages in such situations can worsen the situation.
Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Mandar Acharya said that incorrect massage leading to injuries is common even in toddlers where 'maalishwaali' (female masseurs) hired to massage the child with hot oil are the usual suspects. "Generally ankle and arm related injuries are more often seen while spine and rib fractures are uncommon," he said.
Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr Sandeep Patwardhan at Sancheti hospital said he had seen a two-year-old toddler with a collarbone fracture suffered during a massage. "The masseur pulled the boy's arm with uncontrolled force which lead to the injury. Bones of growing children are not fully developed, so they are more prone to injury."
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