After assessing a medical device safety alert issued by the US Food and Drug Administration concerning a personal massager with the brand name ShoulderFlex, distributed in the US by a company called King International, the Department of Health (DH) has urged the local community to stop using the product because of its association with strangulation and severe injuries.
A DH spokesman remarked that the ShoulderFlex massager is designed for home use to provide deep tissue massage to the neck, shoulders and back while the user lies on a flat surface.
"Through the department's medical device surveillance scheme, we learnt that there were a few reports of either death or near-strangulation associated with the ShoulderFlex massager in the US. According to the information available, the incidents were likely to occur when hair, clothing or jewellery became caught in the device, especially in those pieces that rotate during use," the spokesman explained.
The spokesman stated that the department is very concerned as the health risks could be serious, if not fatal.
"Thus, in spite of the fact that the devices are mainly sold at stores or online in the US and are not known to be on sale here in Hong Kong, nor has the DH received any related notification, given the amount of travelling between the two places and also the popularity of Internet trading, we consider it necessary to inform our public of the news and also advise the immediate suspension of use by the few owners," the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that to be prudent, disposal of the device by owners should be in pieces so as to avoid use after reassembling.
(Reprinted from HKSAR Government web page
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201108/26/P201108260260.htm )