Woman yawns so hard she breaks her own neck in “freak accident”

A 36-year-old mother of two is going viral after she yawned so strongly that she ended up breaking her own neck, sending her to the hospital.

We’ve all had a big yawn or two that left us scared we might dislocate our jaw, but one woman from the United Kingdom seriously injured herself from yawning.

Hayley Black, a mother of two, said the incident happened back in 2016 nearly a decade ago — but after regaling her followers with the harrowing tale in a now-private video on TikTok in 2025, it’s once again shocking viewers across the net.

The injury took place when Hayley was caring for her then-newborn baby, Amelia, who was yawning while waiting for a feed at 5 AM. Yawns are contagious, so when baby Amelia yawned, so did her mom.

Hayley described the ensuing sensation as an “electric shock” that went through half her body, causing her to jump in surprise.

“My arm got stuck in the air and I was having these electric spark sensations,” she explained. “It was like having a seizure down half of my body. I knew instantly something was dreadfully wrong.”

Hayley was transported to a hospital by ambulance — a drive that she described as “excruciatingly painful,” with emergency service workers putting her head in “blocks” to stabilize her neck.

However, scans didn’t show anything wrong, leaving both Hayley and her doctors puzzled.

“I was screaming in pain all night and I had the gas and air. I was trying to hit myself in the head to try to knock myself out because I was in so much pain,” she said.

“Nobody was listening to me, and I was like, ‘Something is seriously wrong.’ The nurses were getting frustrated with me and said, ‘There’s nothing on the scans, you’re okay.'”

Woman paralyzed after breaking neck from strong yawn

Hayley’s ongoing pain prompted doctors to do more tests — and finally, a surgeon discovered that she was completely paralyzed on the right side of her body.

According to Hayley, the C6 and C7 sections of her spine at the base of her neck “shot forward” when she yawned in what medical professionals called a “freak accident.”

She underwent surgery to correct the issue. Doctors described the procedure as “risky,” telling her mother that she had a “50/50” chance of survival due to her low oxygen levels.

Luckily, she made it out to the other side alive and well, although she still struggles with severe nerve pain and fibromyalgia to this day.

“The one thing I have taken from it is to be grateful for the small,” she said. “Being chronically ill now because of it means I am so grateful for the good days, for the small moments, for being able to walk and for being here with my children and husband.”