A 29-year-old woman has died after a chiropractor ‘cracked her neck.’
Polish-born mother-of-one, Joanna Kowalczyk, who resided in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., suffered an injury in her neck during a PT session.
After visiting the emergency department the following day, she was recommended a medical procedure called a lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap.
A spinal tap test is used to diagnose certain health conditions, a needle is inserted into the space between two lumbar bones, called vertebrae. Then a sample of cerebrospinal fluid is removed, as per the Mayo Clinic.
Kowalczyk declined the procedure and instead chose to look for an alternative treatment.
An inquest heard the 29-year-old decided to try chiropractic therapy, Kowalczyk had told the chiropractor she had discharged herself from the hospital.
In the inquest, coroner Leila Benyounes raised official concerns that chiropractors aren’t required to check patient medical records.
If the practitioner had checked the 29-year-olds medical history, they would have seen her conditions which included regular migraines and joint hypermobility issues
The chiropractors diagnosed Kowalczyk with cervical facet joint syndrome and recommended to undergo ‘adjustments and manipulation.’
The mother of one consented to the treatment, and she went on to receive four sessions at the clinic.
During one of her treatment sessions the inquest heard after a ‘left adjustment to the neck’ she began experiencing dizziness.
Kowalczyk started struggling to speak, seeing double and then vomiting. She remained in the clinic for hours, despite being advised to seek medical help.
The 29-year-old received treatment from paramedics who believed she was experiencing a migraine after they were told it was ‘common to occur after having chiropractic treatment’.
The symptoms Kowalczyk experienced were in line with a stroke. The inquest found that both the clinic and the paramedics ‘were not aware that symptoms of stroke could stop after a short period.’
The following day the 29-year-old’s condition deteriorated, the inquest heard she was ‘gravely unwell with a reduced level of consciousness.’
Paramedics were called again, and in the ambulance, en route to the hospital she continued to decline and required ‘intubation and ventilation.’
Kowalczyk died October 19.
The inquest found that the mom had an undiagnosed connective tissue disorder which made her susceptible to arterial dissections- rare tears in the lining of an artery that can be life-threatening according to the Mayo Clinic.
It’s believed she suffered an arterial dissection when she injured herself in the gym, then when she sought out treatment from the chiropractor she suffered another arterial dissection in the same location on the neck.
The coroner said: ‘”Joanna Kowalczyk died due to a combination of the consequences of chiropractic treatment following a naturally occurring medical event, on a background of an undiagnosed medical condition.”
The coroner returned a formal verdict of death and issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the North East Ambulance Service and the General Chiropractic Council.
Corner Benyounes wrote: “The evidence on behalf of the treating chiropractor was that he did not consider it necessary to request GP records or hospital records, before assessment or treatment despite being informed about the Deceased’s recent hospital attendance, investigation which was recommended, and her discharge against medical advice.”
She also added: “I am concerned that consideration to obtaining medical records should always be given before assessment, particularly where recent medical treatment or investigations has been undertaken.”
Kowalczyk is survived by her sister Aleksandra, she shared a tribute on the anniversary of her death: “I think we will miss you forever Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky, Our missing piece.”
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