“I have trained for 25 years - 15 years in martial arts & 10 years in bodybuilding. I am a qualified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist and Sports Therapist. One evening in June 2015, I went to bed as normal with no aches pains or anything. During the night woke up & realised i couldn’t move. After initially being told that I’d strained a muscle, I went to Greece & two days later was back in hospital again. They told me they believed I had a serious neck injury but only an MRI scan could confirm. The 8 weeks before my appointment were one of the hardest periods of my life. I couldn’t move or train. When my scan date eventually came around, I was able to see my MRI images & as a Sports Therapist, I knew what i was looking at. I was left speechless and shocked. I had five prolapsed discs in my cervical spine; two were compressing my spinal cord and one disc was covering a nerve root. I got sent to many specialists and most said surgery is only way with an 18 month resting recovery period, then came the devastating news. You will not lift weights again. This was life changing. With the knowledge I have, I took it upon myself to prove them wrong and rehabilitate myself. I looked at every possible alternative when researching ways to do this including the best nutrition products. I went to physiotherapists, adjusted my training and set a slow plan of recovery. A year and four months later, I am in the best shape of my life ever. Take a look at my twitter account @gymtoto to see progress pics. I am not fully healed but with the correct nutrition and training you can achieve it if you believe it. I hope this can inspire others especially when they’re told you can’t!” Remember i have knowledge of rehabilitation and am a Registered Exercise Professional, you should always seek medical advice if you have an injury and want to train round it. If you need any injury advice or want to ask a question please reply.
Sometimes I think many of us take everything we are told at face value and don't consider the options. Inspirational post!
Sometimes I think our minds are conditioned to believe everything the medical profession tells us. We are way way too dependent upon drugs. Good on you doing it your own way.
My recovery is still ongoing. Training sensibly with good nutrition are key factors in taking myself to a level i can be happy with. Has anyone else on the forum had to adjust there training due to injury. Talking about things like that can actualy help with the rehabilitation process. Tom
