'Two weeks of hiccups': US man suffers stroke after cracking his neck

A US man had a sore neck, so he did something a lot of people do to ease the pain — however he ended up with a serious consequence.

Josh Hader, from Guthrie, Oklahoma, has shared a warning after he suffered a serious stroke from cracking his neck on March 14, CNN reports.

The 28-year-old revealed when he stretched his sore neck he accidentally popped it. The next thing he knew, the left side of his body started to go numb.

He went to the kitchen for an ice pack but couldn't walk straight.

Hader's father-in-law rushed him to the ER before he was transferred to Mercy Hospital.

His doctor said the stroke was life-changing but could have been worse.

"When he popped his neck, he tore arteries that go to the bone of the neck, where the neck joins the skull at the base of the brain," Dr Vance McCollom told CNN.

"The way he twisted the neck caused a bisection."

Hader spent four days in the intensive-care unit before being sent to inpatient therapy.

When Josh Hader stretched his sore neck he accidentally popped it. The next thing he knew, the left side of his body started to go numb. Photo / CNN

"When he arrived, Hader had numbness, weakness, double vision, and his left side was numb," McCollom said.

An arterial gram showed that the artery was compromised because of the tear, which caused a stroke. "He wasn't able to walk straight. He kept falling down," McCollom said.

After rehab, Hader is able to live independently, but he hasn't recovered completely.

"Currently, I can walk without a walker or cane, but I get tired much faster than before. My balance is still a little off, but it's not terrible," he said.

"My left side tingles a little and feels heavier than it used to. I also don't have as much control of that side as I used to. My right side doesn't feel sharp pain or hot/cold."

"I'm good emotionally."

Hader had to wear an eye patch for several weeks because the nerve was injured.

He revealed that the strangest side effect of his stoke is having the hiccups.

"Those were terrible. Literally two weeks of straight hiccups since the stroke happened. Towards the end, they would make it almost impossible for me to breathe for a few seconds, and that was scary," he said.

McCollom explained this is not the first time a stroke patient has had this strange side effect because of where the stroke took place.

He also advised people that if they ever pop their neck, it's best to do it from side to side and not twist it.