Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
Topics: Health
Ali Condon
A woman claims that a visit to the chiropractor left her unable to walk after treatment for a stiff neck left her with a torn artery.
Mariah Bond, 29, went to visit a chiropractor in the hopes of fixing her neck, after a medical massage failed to do the trick.
During the appointment, Mariah's chiropractor quickly twisted her neck from side to side.
The dental nurse, who had 'never been to a chiropractor' before, didn't realise anything was wrong when she heard a crack.
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"It cracked both ways and I'd seen chiropractor videos so I thought it [cracking] was normal but when I stood up I got super dizzy," she recalled.
Mariah suddenly started profusely vomiting and her hand started to tingle, so she had to be rushed to hospital.
"I called my husband because there was no way I was going to drive and I had no idea what was going on," she explained.
It took a few hours in hospital before doctors were able to figure out what had gone wrong.
"I was still throwing up constantly, it was non stop. I couldn't open my eyes because if I did I'd start throwing up because I was so dizzy," Mariah shared.
"I was transferred via ambulance to another hospital where they did a CT scan and confirmed that I was having a stroke."
It turned out that Mariah's chiropractor 'tore [her] artery on the back of [her] neck, so [her] brain didn't get any blood."
Mariah was kept in hospital for five days while her condition was monitored. During that time, she was left unable to walk.
Only by day three did she have the capacity to rely on a zimmer frame to get around.
"I couldn't walk properly or correctly use my hands to eat, it was like I was a child. It was very weird. My brain was there but I couldn't do it," she shared.
"My first stroke was a cerebral stroke and they were saying that I probably had a mini stroke as I was having weird feelings in my legs. They were very confused because that wasn't common with the stroke I had, so they said that I probably had two."
Within a fortnight, Mariah was able to walk again, but had to attend physiotherapy for two months before she could return to work.
Mariah had her last CT scan on June 13, 2022 and received the good news that the vessel had completely healed.
She said: "I was very strong willed at the time because everyone was telling me how well I was handling this. I think my husband was more scared than I was, poor thing."
Since the traumatising experience, however, Mariah has vowed never to visit a chiropractor again and is doing her best to raise awareness to the damage they can cause.
"I was shocked because I'm so young and you don't really hear about young people having strokes, especially from the chiropractor."
She admitted: "I'm pretty paranoid with my neck now. I know I probably shouldn't be but sometimes if I have a weird feeling in my head, it would probably be called PTSD, I automatically start thinking am I having a stroke? I start freaking out."
As a result, Mariah says: "I'd tell people not to go to a chiropractor. I've already told a million people not to do it. Just don't go or at least don't let them do your neck."
Like many other medical practices, chiropractic adjustment does come with its risks but injuries causes are incredibly rare - especially when the procedures are performed by someone who is trained and licensed in the field.