EXCLUSIVE I almost died after my chiropractor tore an artery while cracking my neck
When Carissa Klundt visited a chiropractor to fix her sore back she never expected the healing therapy to almost kill her.
The mom-of-three from Las Vegas decided to start treatments after suffering back and chest pain as a result of a breast implant removal surgery four years prior.
She had attended three appointments and had no issues before a substitute practitioner stepped in to perform her spinal adjustments on the fourth.
Carissa, 41, was immediately concerned when she felt a sharp pain in her neck after the female chiropractor performed one particular cracking procedure.
While she experienced pain after the appointment, Carissa brushed it off as a 'strained muscle' until her husband, Cassidy, insisted she visit the hospital when she began 'blacking out'.
There, doctors confirmed that Carissa had suffered a tear in the inner lining of the vertebral artery - a condition known as a vertebral artery dissection (VAD)
Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is rare, with an estimated incidence of just one in 100,000 people annually.
Doctors warn chiropractic neck manipulation heightens the risk of VAD, and it is estimated that one in 20,000 spinal manipulations results in the condition.
The holistic practitioner was rushed to the intensive care unit at a specialist hospital as medics feared the VAD could trigger a stroke.
After she was discharged, Carissa had a long road to recovery, facing constant pain, and mobility issues.
While she didn't suffer a stroke, the mom says she was diagnosed with the communication disorder aphasia, due to reduced blood flow to the brain from the torn artery.
The condition impairs a person's ability to express and understand language, whether spoken, written, or signed.
Adamant her visit to the chiropractor in November 2022 nearly cost her her life, Carissa is warning others to be wary of the alternative medicine.
Detailing what originally led her to visit a chiropractor, she said: 'I went to my chiropractor because I'd been having a lot of strain in my chest and my back and a friend had recommended one.
'I had breast implant illness (BII) and after my 'explant' all of my symptoms went away that year.
'My body had kind of protected me so my muscles got really tight. It was such a huge surgery, the muscles tightened, it was really painful.'
After visiting a chiropractor to help relieve some of her symptoms, Carissa felt a sharp pang of pain in her neck during her fourth session.
Carissa said: 'As soon as it happened, I knew something was wrong. You do hear a crack anyway when you get an adjustment but I knew something had gone wrong.
'There was a pain in my neck. I got home and felt like I was going to throw up.
'I had no idea a VAD could even happen. Because I work in health, fitness and wellness, I was active after [the appointment]. I was teaching classes, I went to a salon - I did everything wrong.
'A few weeks after seeing the chiropractor, I was seeing things and blacking out and my husband said 'we're taking you to the ER'.'
After undergoing a CAT scan, doctors told Carissa that she had suffered a VAD and transferred her to an ICU at a specialist hospital.
Carissa said: 'I knew straight away that it was from the chiropractor - that's where the pain all started from.
'They said I could've had a stroke. If I hadn't gone to hospital, I would've had a stroke.
'I could've so easily died. It traumatized my whole family.
'For the first month I was pretty much in bed. I was exhausted, sleeping for 17 hours a day. I needed help walking. I was in constant pain.'
Carissa says her life was put on pause after suffering the artery tear and is now spreading awareness of the signs and symptoms of the life-threatening condition.
Touching on her health status years on, she concludes: 'I still have lingering symptoms now - it's a whole lifestyle change. I'll never ski again, I'll never go on a rollercoaster, I'm not teaching classes anymore.
'There's still a residual fear of it happening again. I'm doing well now but it's been a long recovery process.
'My life was really put on pause. I absolutely regret going to the chiropractor. It's not about blaming anyone, it's just about spreading more awareness.
'I want people to understand what the symptoms are and that this is a life-threatening condition.
'I never thought anything like this could happen to me. I was healthy, active and deeply in tune with my body.'
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