Mother of 28-Year-Old Paralyzed at Chiropractor Says Neck Adjustments Aren't Worth the Risk

A 28-year-old woman was paralyzed from a neck adjustment at the chiropractor, according to her family.

Caitlin Jensen was fun-loving and loved the outdoors, her devastated mom said. Now she is in the ICU and cannot move or talk.

“She can communicate only by blinking. She can nod now. She can also give us a thumbs up or thumbs down on the left side. She cannot speak. She's just laying there,” Darlene Jensen said.

“It’s heartbreaking. If I could trade places with her, I would do it in a heartbeat. She’s got her whole life ahead of her. It crushes me,” the mom continued.

Caitlin Jensen went to a local chiropractor in Savannah, Georgia, for a stiff neck after studying for college exams. 

During her neck adjustment, her family says things started to go horribly wrong. Four arteries were ruptured. She suffered a stroke and cardiac arrest.

“I got a phone call from her phone and it was actually the chiropractor and he told me that she was having a reaction to the treatment and that they had called an ambulance,” Darlene said.

When asked if she blames the chiropractor, Darlene said, “Blame is a strong word and I feel bad for everyone in this entire situation. Nobody wanted this.”

But she still believes that people should stop getting neck adjustments. “It’s not worth the risk, period.”

Caitlin Jensen’s chiropractor, Dr. TJ Harpham, declined to discuss the incident, citing patient confidentiality.

Chiropractor Dr. Robert Pomahac, who did not treat Caitlin, says accidents like hers are very unusual.

“It’s about 1 out of 100,000. So very, very uncommon. I’ve probably given 300,000 adjustments in the 20 years of practice, and I’ve never had this situation occur,” Pomahac said. 

It’s estimated that 35 million Americans go to a chiropractor each year. 

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