Paraplegia Following Massage Therapy Intervention in a Patient With Undiagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Abstract

Introduction: Due to increased number of available alternative therapies to the treatment of back pain and sometimes a difficult access to specialized medical evaluations, there is a widespread use of alternative therapies for the treatment of back pain. Case Description: We describe a case with a catastrophic consequence of massage therapy in a patient with initial symptoms of back pain resulting in definitive paraplegia and discuss the needs for medical diagnosis for any treatment. Discussion and Conclusion: We discuss the potencial harms to the patient when initiating a questionable treatment method, which are late diagnosis, direct physical harm, interference with tradiotional treatments, financial harm and time loss. Alternative treatments are valuable tools to control refractory symptoms, especially pain. But we reinforce the need of adequate medical screening before performing therapies which may bring unwilling outcomes.