A woman died after going to a chiropractor to treat a neck injury she’d suffered while exercising at the gym.
29-year-old Tyneside woman Joanna Kowalczyk discharged herself from hospital and went to a chiropractor who did not see her medical records for an alternative treatment.
During her fourth session with the chiropractor in October 2021 she felt dizzy, developed double vision, had a tingling in her right hand and foot, and struggled with speech.
After several hours she was eventually able to go home but was soon afterwards taken to hospital where she later died.
Writing in a prevention of future death’s report, 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.”
Assistant coroner for Gateshead and South Tyneside Leila Benyounes found that it was likely Kowalczyk had undiagnosed connective tissue disorder which made her vulnerable to arterial dissections.
The 29-year-old’s medical history included migraines and joint hypermobility, but this was information the chiropractor did not see.
When Kowalczyk was exercising at the gym on 27 September, 2021, she felt a crack in her neck which the report says was likely to be bilateral arterial dissections.
This is a tear in the layers of the carotid artery located in the neck, and can lead to life-threatening conditions such as a stroke or a bleed on the brain.
The day after her injury the 29-year-old visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead and had a CT scan, but left before a lumbar puncture could be carried out having researched alternative treatments while she was in hospital.
The coroner’s report said that on the fourth session Kowalczyk ‘sustained acute dissections in the same location as the previous dissections during the chiropractic manipulation’.
Her chiropractor was concerned that she had suffered a stroke but tested negative, and although two people advised her to go to hospital she decided against it.
After several hours at the chiropractor’s her partner helped her return home since she couldn’t walk properly, and the chiropractor gave her a note telling her to go to hospital if she felt any worse.
Am ambulance was called and the 29-year-old was checked for signs of a stroke, while she was diagnosed with a migraine.
The next day she fell ‘gravely ill’ and paramedics rushed her to hospital where she died on 19 October, 2021.
A General Chiropractic Council spokesman said: “We expect chiropractors to provide good quality care that is patient-centred, safe and effective, and that is consistent with the current standards for good healthcare practice.
“We will be carefully considering the important concerns raised by the coroner in her report and will respond directly to her.”
