CURED BY SNEEZING

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 227, 7 September 1933, Page 7

CURED BY SNEEZING

MAN’S TWISTED NECK. REMARKABLE SYDNEY CASE. SYDNEY, Sept. 4. A week or two ago Ralph Commins, aged 25, a salesman, of Mosman, lay flat on his back in a Sydney Hospital bed, where he had lain for a week, with two vertebrae displaced. Doctors feared for his life. Then one night he had a sneezing fit—and sneezed the wandering members back into place. Now he Is well on the road to recovery. Mr Commins and a friend were wrestling in a gymnasium when the former had his neck twisted and suffered intense pain. The hospital surgeons found he was not suffering from paralysis of the neck, as expected, but an Xray examination revealed serious dislocation of two vertebrae. An operation was spoken of, but it was decided that in the administering of an anaesthetic Mr Commins might struggle and do himself further injury, and the case might prove fatal. There was also the fear that, in any case, movement might injure delicate nerves. Mr Commins lay still for a week. Then came the sneezing bout, and he jerked his head violently. Soon he felt considerably relieved. He had a good night ’s sleep, and in the morning surprised the nurses when he told them the pain had gone. Another X-ray examination show Ted that the displacement had been corrected.

“Everything is going well with me,” said Mr Commins a. few days later. ‘ ‘ But I am not going on the mat again. 1 am going to stick to hockey in future. Wrestling is over as far as I am concerned.’’