History
VBI was first reported in the early 1990s when an American neurologist identified five patients who suffered strokes as a result of prolonged distortion of their necks from sitting at salon wash basins.
In 1997 medical journal The Lancet published a report by two British doctors about a 42-year-old woman who suffered a stroke after having her hair washed.
The experts said the stroke was due to
"dissection of her right internal carotid artery. Her head had been extended backwards for about five minutes while being washed and after the treatment she felt numb and suffered slurred speech."
The doctors recommended that hairdressers use a cushion and that the neck is not overextended. As a result of this recommendation there have been several sink cushions developed including Nekeze, Hairtools Basin Neck Cushion and the Soft n Style cushion. Trainee Hairdressers are also being taught to make sure that their clients are comfortable.
Several recent studies of the causes of strokes have identified how salon washing basins exert stress on the neck, causing the carotid or vertebral arteries to tear.
David Bateman, a consultant neurologist at Cumberland Infirmary, said that
“salon hairwashing was an identifiable, if small, risk factor for people predisposed to arterial damage. If your neck is stretched and it kinks for a long time, as happens during hairwashing, you stretch the arteries and if you are unlucky you can tear them,” he added “Once you have got that tear in the lining, blood starts flowing between layers of tissue and that can cause blood clots to start building up, leading to a stroke.”
Dr Bateman went onto say
“stroke cases from neck overextension appeared only in people particularly vulnerable to arterial tears, although there was little way of telling who might be at risk. Other factors that contribute to strokes include high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and raised cholesterol.”
Other such triggers, which normally require ten minutes of neck overextension, include fairground rides, dentists’ chairs, sit-up exercises and yoga. Another cause, known as Golden Gate Bridge Syndrome, is prompted by excessive strain of looking up.
Read more about this topic: Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency
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