Massage device eyed in doctor's death

The death of Florida radiologist found strangled on Christmas Eve has prompted an FDA recall of the neck massager that led to her death.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the device found next to Dr. Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson's lifeless body was King International's ShoulderFlex Massager.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about the ShoulderFlex on Friday, linking its rotating components to Ferrari-Gegerson's death and one other near-strangulation.

"It's a very dangerous device and were glad they're taking it off the market," her husband, Dr. Kenneth Gegerson, said.

He says a lawsuit over his wife's death is pending.

Police say Ferreri-Gegerson, 37, was alone wrapping gifts at her Parkland home and was about to get ready to go to work when she laid down to use the massager and her necklace apparently caught in its moving parts.

The necklace quickly tightened, causing Ferrari-Gegerson to pass out and stop breathing.

'Killer' Massage Machine Prompts FDA Warning Whether you spend your days hunched in front of a computer or over your steering wheel during your daily commute, knots, kinks, and at least minimal achiness are almost unavoidable. And it's not like we can all drop $50+ on hour-long massages every week. That's why something like the ShoulderFlex Massager seems uber-appealing to most people. But unfortunately, the "stress-relieving" device that has been on the market since 2003 isn't the answer. Unless you want to get strangled to death, that is.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration issued an alert, blaming the machine for one death and one near-strangulation due to a necklace and a piece of clothing becoming caught in a rotating component of the massager. In other cases, people's hair has gotten caught in the machine. Uggghhh. CREEPY!

Sure, people misuse gadgets all the time and end up hurting themselves, but in this case, it sounds like the device itself is the problem.

In other cases, users' hair has become caught in the ShoulderFlex, according to the FDA.

The agency even urged people who own the device to "dispose of the device components separately so that the massager cannot be reassembled and used."

The ShoulderFlex, which retailed for about $130, is no longer available for retail purchase.

According to the FDA, King International sold nearly 12,000 of the devices since 2003.

The 12-pound device has rotating "ringers" inside a memory foam pillow, and was once touted as a do-it-yourself deep tissue massage.

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Written by
NBC Universal