Stroke, Chiropractic & Sensationalism: Logical Fallacies & False Narratives in the Death of Joanna Kowalczyk
The Truth Behind the Headlines: Debunking the Media’s Chiropractic Scare Tactics
Introduction
When tragedy strikes, the media has a responsibility to report the facts. However, in the case of Joanna Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old woman who died after suffering an arterial dissection, the press has chosen sensationalism over substance—blaming chiropractic care while ignoring critical medical failures and broader health concerns.
From the Daily Mail to the New York Post and People Magazine, the headlines tell a misleading story: that Joanna’s visit to a chiropractor was the direct cause of her death. But when we examine the evidence, a different narrative emerges—one that exposes logical fallacies, omitted context, and medical negligence that went unreported.
One of the most glaring omissions in this case, however, is the failure to investigate the broader rise in vascular events since COVID-19 and the COVID vaccines. Given Joanna’s young age and the sudden onset of an arterial dissection, healthcare providers should have considered these risk factors—but instead, the media ignored them entirely.
The Real Story: What Happened to Joanna Kowalczyk?
The coroner’s report confirms that Joanna’s health crisis began at the gym, where she felt a crack in her neck during a personal training session. She subsequently developed severe headaches, prompting a visit to the emergency department.
Doctors suspected a subarachnoid hemorrhage and recommended a lumbar puncture, but Joanna chose to self-discharge against medical advice. While waiting in the hospital, she researched alternative treatments and sought chiropractic care on her own accord.
Over several weeks, she underwent four chiropractic adjustments. During her final session, she experienced symptoms of dizziness, double vision, and tingling in her extremities—possible signs of a stroke. The chiropractor and a colleague advised her to go to the hospital, but she refused.
Hours later, paramedics misdiagnosed her stroke as a migraine and failed to transport her to the hospital. The next day, she suffered a catastrophic decline and was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.
CLICK HERE for a detailed timeline of the events
So why are the media headlines blaming chiropractic care instead of highlighting the missed medical interventions?
Media Manipulation: Logical Fallacies and Misinformation
A deeper look at the media coverage reveals a pattern of disinformation, with key facts ignored or distorted to fit a clickbait narrative.
1. Post Hoc Fallacy – Correlation Is Not Causation
Every major news outlet implies that because Joanna died after visiting a chiropractor, the adjustment must have caused her death.
Daily Mail:
"Woman, 29, who died after chiropractor 'cracked her neck' in attempt to treat injury suffered at gym.”
New York Post:
"29-year-old dies after going to chiropractor to treat ‘crack to her neck’ during workout.”
✔️ Fact: The coroner’s report clearly states that Joanna’s arterial dissection began at the gym, not during chiropractic treatment.
✔️ Fact: She had an undiagnosed connective tissue disorder that predisposed her to arterial injuries—something no provider caught.
2. Downplaying Medical Failures
Joanna sought medical help before and after her chiropractic visits, yet the media ignore the role of doctors and paramedics who failed to intervene properly.
✔️ Missed Hospital Diagnosis: She was advised to get a lumbar puncture but left against medical advice. The hospital failed to do the correct imaging.
✔️ Paramedic Negligence: The first responders misdiagnosed her stroke as a migraine and failed to transport her to the hospital.
✔️ Hospital Oversight: When she finally reached the hospital, it was too late for treatment to be effective.
🔴 Misleading Media Narrative: The chiropractor should have somehow foreseen her condition.
✅ Reality: Even the hospital, medical and trained emergency responders missed it.
3. Omission of Patient Autonomy
Joanna was not forced into chiropractic care—she actively chose it after declining conventional medical treatments.
✔️ She researched alternative treatments herself while waiting in the hospital.
✔️ She was advised multiple times to go to the hospital but refused.
✔️ She continued chiropractic care for four weeks, reporting improvement after sessions.
🔴 Misleading Media Narrative: Joanna was a victim of chiropractic negligence.
✅ Reality: She was an informed adult who made her own healthcare decisions.
The Missing Factor: Rising Vascular Events Since COVID and the COVID Vaccine
One of the biggest oversights in both the media coverage and the coroner’s report is the failure to consider the sharp rise in vascular events since the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of the COVID vaccines.
What We Know:
✔️ COVID-19 infection is associated with increased rates of arterial dissections, clotting disorders, and stroke.
✔️ COVID-19 vaccines, particularly mRNA-based vaccines, have been linked to vascular complications, including myocarditis, blood clots, and cerebrovascular events.
✔️ Doctors worldwide have reported spikes in strokes, aneurysms, and unexplained vascular injuries in younger populations since 2021.
Given Joanna’s young age and the sudden onset of an arterial dissection, her medical providers should have considered this possibility. Instead, the media and the coroner ignored it entirely.
The question remains:
❓ Did Joanna have a recent COVID infection?
❓ Was she recently vaccinated?
❓ Were her symptoms part of the well-documented post-pandemic rise in vascular events?
Since vascular health concerns have increased dramatically post-COVID, every healthcare provider—medical, chiropractic, and emergency medicine—should be screening for these risks.
Final Verdict: What Should Have Been Reported?
Instead of misleading headlines, responsible journalism would have focused on:
✔️ The gym-related injury that triggered her arterial dissection.
✔️ The failure of emergency medical professionals to diagnose her condition.
✔️ The paramedics’ critical mistake in not recognizing stroke symptoms.
✔️ The need for better patient education about connective tissue disorders and arterial health.
✔️ The possibility that post-COVID or post-vaccine vascular complications contributed to her condition.
Instead, we got another sensationalist attack on chiropractic care, fueling public fear instead of informed discussion.
Conclusion: Demand Better from the Media
Joanna Kowalczyk’s death was a tragedy, but the blame belongs on the failures of the healthcare system—not the chiropractic profession.
The next time you see clickbait headlines blaming chiropractors for deaths, ask yourself:
❓ What details are they leaving out?
❓ Are they applying the same scrutiny to medical errors?
❓ Is this just another attempt to smear alternative healthcare?
Because when you follow the evidence, the real story is often very different from what the media wants you to believe.
Click Below for the other articles in this series that break down the case:
What the News Reported vs. Reality – Analyzing the logical fallacies and disinformation in media coverage.
What the Coroner’s Report Actually Said – Examining Joanna’s medical timeline and the failures of emergency medicine and paramedics in properly diagnosing and treating her condition.
A Detailed Timeline of Events & critical decision making errors
Risk Management Strategies for Chiropractors – Providing evidence-based recommendations to ensure chiropractors can mitigate risks and protect both their patients and their profession in similar cases.
