It was during the match against Charlton Athletic at The Valley in south-east London that Victor Adeboyejo from Nigeria injured his back. The reason? A real sneeze.
– It is quite unusual, says chief physician Mikael Sandström.
The 26-year-old striker had loaded up for the cup tie for Bolton Wanderers but had to sit out due to his back injury. How bad the injury is is not clear, but the player has had to undergo X-rays. However, this is something if not particularly common according to Doctor Mikael.
– But the fact that you can cough and crack a rib is well known from the patient world, he says.
The mechanism behind a sneeze
A sneeze is a protective reflex that creates a blast of air traveling at 30 to 40 meters per second. It is equivalent to driving and riding a motorcycle for 120 kilometers on the motorway.
– Then you know how much it is blowing and then a support must be created. There are ribs and muscles between each rib, it is one that has broken in this case, says Doctor Mikael.
The doctor’s warning: “Don’t do this when you sneeze”
However, Mikael Sandström believes that there is something much more dangerous than sneezing – namely suffocating a sneeze.
– If I suffocate a sneeze, the air has to go somewhere and then in rare cases the carotid artery follows and you get a stroke, he says.
That someone is injured from suffocating a sneeze happens a few times a year. In addition, the vessels become more fragile with age, so the risk of serious damage increases.
– Then there will be a stroke and lifelong paralysis, says Doctor Mikael.
Best way to sneeze
According to the chief physician, the best way to sneeze is to sneeze with your mouth open, as there is less air resistance.
– Then you should try to sneeze in the crook of your arm, of course, so that you don’t spread a cold 40 meters per second, says Mikael Sandström.
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