Neck adjustment gone wrong: Man in 20s left with shocking Locked-In syndrome for life; know what it is

Whoever thought visiting the chiropractor for a simple neck adjustment could change your life for the worse? It seems now, you need to be careful of who you visit for medical help and also need to monitor any kind of treatment for some time.

Jonathan Buckelew, now 34, was taken to a Georgia hospital after he seized and became unresponsive during a chiropractic neck adjustment on October 26, 2015, revealed court documents, as reported by Daily mail.

Buckelew, who was in his 20s back then, was rushed to the North Fulton Hospital, where his brain stem stroke went undiagnosed for a day and thus altered his life forever.

The delay in the diagnosis and thus the treatment led to him developing locked-in syndrome , a rare neurological condition that leaves a person completely paralyzed except for their eyes.

While they may be aware of their surroundings and listen to them, they are left with no way of communicating or moving.

What is Locked-In syndrome?


Locked-In Syndrome (LIS) is a condition where a person experiences quadriplegia- paralysis in all four limbs and the torso and bulbar palsy- a group of signs and symptoms resulting from impairment of lower cranial nerves, all because of damage in the brainstem.

According to the National Library of Medicine, patients preserve cognition, eye movements and hearing but suffer from motor loss. The mean age of onset for the syndrome is between 30-50 years of age, mostly among men. Common symptoms of the syndrome are related to a disruption in the functions that pass through the ventral brainstem thus leading to dizziness, paralysis of limbs and torso, difficulty with voluntary breathing, apnea and more.

It is stated that prompt diagnosis of the disease, supportive treatment and early rehabilitation have helped people positively, which was not performed in Buckelew's case.