Hematomyelia is rare, and usually related to major
trauma. Non-traumatic causes are much rarer and include underlying
vascular malformations and cord
tumors. We present the case of a previously well 44-year-old woman who developed severe acute
neck pain and right-sided motor deficit after a session of traditional Chinese
massage that entailed minimal neck manipulation. Emergent MRI confirmed
hematomyelia of the right cervical hemicord, notably without associated bony or ligamentous injury. Follow-up spinal angiography and MRIs revealed no underlying
vascular malformation or
tumor. We highlight this case as there has been no reported case of
hematomyelia occurring after mild
trauma, although two cases of idiopathic
hematomyelia have been reported. Though exceedingly rare,
hematomyelia should be considered in the list of differential diagnoses in any case of
neck pain and motor deficit after seemingly trivial injury.