A young woman who felt a “crack to her neck” during a gym workout in 2021 died weeks later after going to a chiropractor to treat her neck pain, a recent inquest heard.
Joanna Kowalczyk, 29, from Gateshead, a town in Newcastle, England, turned down a procedure at a hospital and as a substitute pursued alternative treatments to assist her injury.
Kowalczyk is believed to have suffered an arterial dissection – a tear in the liner of an artery – after injuring her neck during a private training session at a gym in September 2021.
She had an underlying connective tissue disorder that made her more vulnerable to this type of injury, based on The Times.
She also usually suffered from migraines and had joint hypermobility issues – all of which were noted in her medical history.
Nevertheless, her chiropractor didn’t check her records, and the girl suffered acute dissections in the identical location after her neck was adjusted, which led to her death.
Leila Benyounes, assistant coroner for Gateshead and South Tyneside, ruled that Kowalczyk died as a result of the repercussions of “chiropractic treatment following a naturally occurring medical event.”
Last week, she published her findings, calling on the General Chiropractic Council to determine rules encouraging chiropractors to examine a patient’s medical history before treating them.
Gymgoer discharges herself from hospital, seeks chiropractor
Kowalczyk had initially visited the emergency department after hearing the crack in her neck.
She had a CT scan and was advised she should undergo a lumbar puncture, a test used to rule out the potential for a hemorrhage.
As a substitute, she “self-discharged” from the hospital and went to a chiropractor to treat the pain.
Kowalczyk informed the chiropractor that she had already been to the hospital and had undergone a scan, but he didn’t try and procure any medical or hospital records.
Kowalczyk then underwent 4 “adjustments and manipulation” treatments between September and October, as per reports from Every day Mail.
Double vision and vomiting after neck adjustment
During a session on October 16 where she underwent a “left adjustment to the neck,” Kowalczyk began to experience “immediate symptoms of dizziness and room spinning.”
She later developed double vision, a tingling in her right hand and right foot, and vomited.
Chiropractors advised her to go to the hospital, but she didn’t wish to and selected to remain within the clinic, where she rested for a couple of hours.
Later that day, she was eventually treated by paramedics after experiencing speech difficulty, which is related to a stroke.
They diagnosed her with a migraine after hearing that “symptoms of dizziness and migraine were normal after the chiropractic treatment.”
The inquest revealed that the medical skilled was unaware that stroke symptoms could stop after a brief time frame.
They said they’d have taken her to hospital that day had she been unable to maneuver unaided.
The next day, Kowalczyk felt “gravely unwell” and had a reduced level of consciousness, and paramedics were called again.
She deteriorated within the ambulance and required ventilation and intubation.
Hospital scans showed dead brain tissue and a tear within the wall of considered one of the neck’s blood vessels.
She died two days later, on October 19.
‘Obtaining medical records should all the time be given’
The coroner, Benyounes said: “The evidence on behalf of the treating chiropractor was that he didn’t consider it needed to request GP records or hospital records, before assessment or treatment despite being informed in regards to the Deceased’s recent hospital attendance, investigation which was really helpful, and her discharge against medical advice.
“Even within the updated consent form I even have been supplied with, which was designed by the British Chiropractic Association, there isn’t any prompt or query designed for the chiropractor to ask to contemplate obtaining medical records before assessment or treatment, and when this may increasingly be appropriate.
“The one reference to medical records is a consent to speak as deemed needed for the treatment, and for a report back to be sent to the GP after treatment.
“I’m concerned that consideration to obtaining medical records should all the time be given before assessment, particularly where recent medical treatment or investigations has been undertaken.”
A young woman who felt a “crack to her neck” during a gym workout in 2021 died weeks later after going to a chiropractor to treat her neck pain, a recent inquest heard.
Joanna Kowalczyk, 29, from Gateshead, a town in Newcastle, England, turned down a procedure at a hospital and as a substitute pursued alternative treatments to assist her injury.
Kowalczyk is believed to have suffered an arterial dissection – a tear in the liner of an artery – after injuring her neck during a private training session at a gym in September 2021.
She had an underlying connective tissue disorder that made her more vulnerable to this type of injury, based on The Times.
She also usually suffered from migraines and had joint hypermobility issues – all of which were noted in her medical history.
Nevertheless, her chiropractor didn’t check her records, and the girl suffered acute dissections in the identical location after her neck was adjusted, which led to her death.
Leila Benyounes, assistant coroner for Gateshead and South Tyneside, ruled that Kowalczyk died as a result of the repercussions of “chiropractic treatment following a naturally occurring medical event.”
Last week, she published her findings, calling on the General Chiropractic Council to determine rules encouraging chiropractors to examine a patient’s medical history before treating them.
Gymgoer discharges herself from hospital, seeks chiropractor
Kowalczyk had initially visited the emergency department after hearing the crack in her neck.
She had a CT scan and was advised she should undergo a lumbar puncture, a test used to rule out the potential for a hemorrhage.
As a substitute, she “self-discharged” from the hospital and went to a chiropractor to treat the pain.
Kowalczyk informed the chiropractor that she had already been to the hospital and had undergone a scan, but he didn’t try and procure any medical or hospital records.
Kowalczyk then underwent 4 “adjustments and manipulation” treatments between September and October, as per reports from Every day Mail.
Double vision and vomiting after neck adjustment
During a session on October 16 where she underwent a “left adjustment to the neck,” Kowalczyk began to experience “immediate symptoms of dizziness and room spinning.”
She later developed double vision, a tingling in her right hand and right foot, and vomited.
Chiropractors advised her to go to the hospital, but she didn’t wish to and selected to remain within the clinic, where she rested for a couple of hours.
Later that day, she was eventually treated by paramedics after experiencing speech difficulty, which is related to a stroke.
They diagnosed her with a migraine after hearing that “symptoms of dizziness and migraine were normal after the chiropractic treatment.”
The inquest revealed that the medical skilled was unaware that stroke symptoms could stop after a brief time frame.
They said they’d have taken her to hospital that day had she been unable to maneuver unaided.
The next day, Kowalczyk felt “gravely unwell” and had a reduced level of consciousness, and paramedics were called again.
She deteriorated within the ambulance and required ventilation and intubation.
Hospital scans showed dead brain tissue and a tear within the wall of considered one of the neck’s blood vessels.
She died two days later, on October 19.
‘Obtaining medical records should all the time be given’
The coroner, Benyounes said: “The evidence on behalf of the treating chiropractor was that he didn’t consider it needed to request GP records or hospital records, before assessment or treatment despite being informed in regards to the Deceased’s recent hospital attendance, investigation which was really helpful, and her discharge against medical advice.
“Even within the updated consent form I even have been supplied with, which was designed by the British Chiropractic Association, there isn’t any prompt or query designed for the chiropractor to ask to contemplate obtaining medical records before assessment or treatment, and when this may increasingly be appropriate.
“The one reference to medical records is a consent to speak as deemed needed for the treatment, and for a report back to be sent to the GP after treatment.
“I’m concerned that consideration to obtaining medical records should all the time be given before assessment, particularly where recent medical treatment or investigations has been undertaken.”
