Woman said she almost died after chiropractor cracked her neck
A mom-of-three from Las Vegas said she almost died after a chiropractor cracked her neck during a session to fix her sore back.
Carissa Klundt 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 concluded: '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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Measles outbreaks in Michigan and Pennsylvania end, while Texas logs just 4 new cases
The U.S. logged 122 more cases of measles last week — but only four of them in Texas — while the outbreaks in Pennsylvania and Michigan officially ended. There were 1,168 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Health officials in Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, said they'll now post case counts only once a week — yet another sign the outbreak is slowing. There are three other major outbreaks in North America. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,009 cases from mid-October through June 3. The province logged its first death Thursday in a baby that got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions. Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 761 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,940 measles cases and four deaths as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry. Other U.S. states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma. In the U.S., two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles this year. All were unvaccinated. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. How many measles cases are there in Texas? There were a total of 742 cases across 35 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Friday. Throughout the outbreak, 94 people have been hospitalized. State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-five percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 411 cases since late January — just under 2% of the county's residents. The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of 'what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.' A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6. How many measles cases are there in New Mexico? New Mexico added two cases in the last week for a total of 81. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Sandoval County near Albuquerque has six cases, Eddy County has three, Doña Ana County has two. Chaves, Curry and San Juan counties have one each. An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. How many cases are there in Oklahoma? Oklahoma added one case last week for a total of 15 confirmed and three probable cases. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases. How many cases are there in Colorado? Colorado has seen a total of 12 measles cases in 2025, which includes one outbreak of seven related cases. The outbreak is linked to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport in mid-May, and includes three cases each in Arapahoe and El Paso counties and one in Denver, plus a person who doesn't live in Colorado. Other counties that have seen measles this year include Archuleta and Pueblo. How many cases are there in Illinois? Illinois health officials confirmed a four-case outbreak on May 5 in the far southern part of the state, and it's grown to eight cases as of June 6, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state's other two cases so far this year were in Cook County, and are unrelated to the southern Illinois outbreak. How many cases are there in Kansas? Kansas has a total of 71 cases across 11 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with three hospitalizations. All but two of the cases are connected, and most are in Gray County. How many cases are there in Montana? Montana had 17 measles cases as of Thursday. Ten were in Gallatin County, which is where the first cases showed up — Montana's first in 35 years. Flathead and Yellowstone counties had two cases each, and Hill County had three case. There are outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. How many cases are there in North Dakota? North Dakota, which hadn't seen measles since 2011, was up to 34 cases as of Friday. Two of the people have been hospitalized, and all of the people with confirmed cases were not vaccinated. There were 16 cases in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. On the eastern side of the state on the Minnesota border, there were 10 cases in Grand Forks County and seven cases in Cass County. Burke County, in northwest North Dakota on the border of Saskatchewan, Canada, had one case. How many cases are there in Ohio? Ohio remained steady for a third week at 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents. The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors. Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each. How many cases are there in Tennessee? Tennessee has had six measles cases since early May, but no change since. Tennessee's outbreak appears to be over, as health officials say there have not been any new cases in six weeks. Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.? Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Earlier outbreaks in Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania were declared over by health officials after six weeks of no new cases. Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC said in May that more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year, and most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine? The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from 'killed' virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have 'presumptive immunity." Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to 'herd immunity.' But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. How can you treat measles? There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Terrifying hospital loophole that allows doctors to remove your organs while you're still ALIVE
As Anthony Thomas 'TJ' Hoover II was wheeled into surgery to harvest his organs, his eyes flitted back and forth and began to open. Despite doctors declaring the 36-year-old dead, Hoover's brain was becoming more and more active- and as he was taken into the Kentucky operating room, he began thrashing on the bed and crying, patient records show, and was very much alive. Doctors halted the surgery only after arguing with the team responsible for procuring Hoover's organs, who wanted to continue anyway. Hoover's case prompted a years-long federal investigation into Kentucky's organ donation procurement nonprofit, whose team reportedly scrambled to find a surgeon willing to harvest the organs of a living man when the first surgeon backed out. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) investigation delved into about 350 cases involving Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) in which plans for organ retrievals were ultimately scrapped because declared-dead patients began waking up. In 73 cases, federal investigators found organ harvesting should have been stopped sooner as patients showed improving consciousness and signs of pain or distress, according to the New York Times. While most patients are deemed eligible to donate organs after being declared brain dead, these patients had experienced circulatory death - when the heart stops functioning and blood and oxygen no longer circulate in the body. Opponents of donation after circulatory death (DCD) argue the practice has looser criteria for declaring someone dead, leading to the potential for someone who is not definitively dead being taken off of life-sustaining measures for premature donation. DCD has been steadily becoming more common over the years, and involves recovering organs after the heart stops, though some brain activity may remain. Traditionally, most organ donations come from patients declared brain dead, the complete and irreversible loss of all brain function - though patients may be hooked up to machines that keep the heart and lungs working. Because heart and lung function is maintained with machines, organs remain viable for transplant. With circulatory death, death is declared when circulation and respiratory function has stopped - even though they haven't been declared brain dead. When hospitals identify patients nearing death who might be eligible donors, they notify organ procurement organizations (OPOs) such as KODA. An OPO representative then visits the hospital to assess whether the patient shows signs of imminent brain death. If brain death is unlikely but the patient cannot survive without life support and the family is considering withdrawing care, the case may be appropriate for DCD. In these situations, the OPO works closely with the family and medical team to coordinate end-of-life plans and organ donation. DCD helps increase the number of available donors, offering hope to more than 103,000 Americans waiting for life-saving heart, kidney, lung, and other organ transplants. But the practice has proven to be an ethical minefield. While organ procurement organizations like KODA insist they do not harvest organs from live patients, federal officials and activists say Hoover's case was not a one-off. DCDs have become increasingly common as a way to meet the needs of a growing number of people on national waiting lists. The number of organs recovered from DCD Donors in 1993 was 112. By 2021, over 10,000 recovered organs came from DCD donors. The federal inquiry into Kentucky's organ procurement practices began last fall when the House Energy and Commerce Committee learned of Hoover's experience. Hoover was rushed to the hospital after a drug overdose in October 2024. He was unresponsive in the hospital. For two days after Hoover's family agreed to donate his organs, KODA officers tested the man's organs and lined up transplant surgeons and recipients. During one exam on his heart, Hoover was 'thrashing on the bed,' according to patient records, and was sedated to prevent further motion. His sister, Donna Rhorer, remembered watching him being wheeled to the operating room as his eyes moved and tracked where his sister was, keeping his gaze in her direction. She and the rest of the family were told this was a common reflex. 'It was like it was his way of letting us know, you know, "Hey, I'm still here,'' Rhorer told NPR. The hospital staff 'was extremely uncomfortable with the amount of reflexes patient is exhibiting,' case notes read. 'Hospital staff kept stating that this was euthanasia.' A procurement organization coordinator assured them it was not. A former KODA employee told the New York Times that had it not been for that doctor who called off the procedure, 'we absolutely 1,000 percent would have moved forward.' Natasha Miller, who used to work for KODA as an organ preservationist, told NPR last year that, at the time, the organ procurement case coordinator was scrambling with her boss about what to do next as Hoover thrashed and cried. Miller said: 'So the coordinator calls the supervisor at the time. And she was saying that he was telling her that she needed to 'find another doctor to do it' – that, 'We were going to do this case. She needs to find someone else.' 'And she's like, 'There is no one else.' She's crying — the coordinator — because she's getting yelled at.' Three other former KODA employees have attested to seeing similar cases. Patients are typically taken to the operating room, where doctors remove them from life support and wait for the natural dying process to wrap up. The organs are only transplantable if the patient dies within an hour or two. Strict rules are in place barring any procedure from beginning before a patient dies. But the HRSA investigation, as reported by the Times, shows that KODA employees repeatedly pressured families to green-light organ harvesting, improperly took over cases from doctors, and tried to push hospital staff to pull patients from life support even amid indications that patients were becoming more aware of their surroundings. KODA employees also failed to recognize that hospital-administered sedatives or illegal drugs could mask a patient's actual neurological condition, making them appear in worse shape than they are. In another case, in December 2022, a 50-year-old man who had suffered an overdose began stirring in his bed less than an hour after being removed from life support. He woke up and started looking around. The retrieval attempt was not immediately scrapped nor was the patient given any explanation as to what was going on, 'but was becoming more aware by the minute,' a doctor's notes said. The attempt wasn't called off for another 40 minutes, the point at which his organs were no longer viable. In the ICU, he was awake and speaking with his family, though the patient died three days later. KODA, now Network for Hope after a merger, said it 'is disappointed in the New York Times story that declines to include factual clarifications and critical context about organ and tissue donation. 'Network for Hope remains committed to transparency and to the mission of saving lives. That commitment has not changed. The only people hurt by inaccuracies in journalism are those who are awaiting a second chance for life. 'Network for Hope is in full compliance with all requirements of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We are fully committed to transparency and accountability to their regulations regarding Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) donation.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
How high is your risk of dementia? It may depend on where you live
How high is your risk of dementia? It might depend on where you live, according to a new study of U.S. veterans. A team at U.C. San Francisco said Monday that it had identified the regions where the chronic brain disorder occurs most often. Using the Mid-Atlantic region as the baseline for comparison, where dementia incidence rates were the lowest, they found that dementia was 25 percent higher in the Southeast. That included Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Whereas, the Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions were both 23 percent higher. Other regions included in the study – one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind – were the South and Southwest, which were 18 and 13 percent higher, respectively. California was included in the Southwest. The Northeast incidence rates were still higher than the Mid-Atlantic, but just by 7 percent. 'The study underscores the need to understand regional differences in dementia and the importance of region-specific prevention and intervention efforts,' UCSF Director of the Center for Population Brain Health Dr. Kristine Yaffe said in a statement. Yaffe was the senior author of the study, which was published in the journal JAMA Neurology. The study included the health records from more than 1.2 million veterans, noting that veterans have a higher prevalence of risk factors such as traumatic brain injuries, depression, and post-traumatic stress. The researchers found that the differences remained when they accounted for certain factors, including age, race, and cardiovascular disease. They noted that access to medical care may be more difficult in rural areas, compared with urban areas. Previous research has found higher rates of dementia in rural communities. Recently, other UCSF researchers found that proteins in spinal fluid may be the key to understanding why middle-aged people develop dementia. The onset of dementia is known to be tied to depression, but different types have their own causes. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form, impacting some 6.7 million Americans. Cases are estimated to double by the year 2060. There is currently no cure. The next step for these researchers is to investigate what the factors driving these differences are. They said they hoped that, by identifying areas with the highest incidence rates, resources can be better allocated and targeted interventions designed to mitigate the impact of dementia on vulnerable populations. 'Quality of education, early life conditions, and environmental exposures may be among those factors,' said first author Dr. Christina Dintica.
