I regret pushing through back pain in a CrossFit class – I became incontinent and now use a walking stick
A GYM bunny who was almost paralysed after a gym class is now warning others of the risks of weightlifting.
Jodie Wickers was tackling 60kg-weighted deadlifts during a CrossFit class when she felt a sharp pain in her back.
The 35-year-old, who says she regularly deadlifts 120kg, pushed through agony the following week before her GP sent her for an MRI scan.
Jodie was told she had a slipped disc, which had caused a rare and severe spinal condition called cauda equina syndrome (CES).
The condition, which Blue singer Duncan James was recently diagnosed with, is where the nerves at the bottom of the spinal cord become severely compressed.
It’s known to cause back pain, numbness in the pubic region, loss of bladder and bowel control, sexual dysfunction and paralysis of the legs.
By the day of her scan Jodie says she was unable to walk and was experiencing bowel and bladder issues such as constipation and urine retention.
The charity CEO was rushed into emergency surgery to cut off areas of the inflamed disc but has been left with nerve damage and weakness in her legs.
Jodie, who suffered the horror injury in November last year, now relies on a walking stick and wants to raise awareness of CES, especially with those who regularly lift weights.
Jodie, from Hackney, East London, said: “I joined CrossFit last year and it was a new way of lifting for me but not massively so. I’d done weightlifting for a long time.
“In November, I was in a CrossFit class doing deadlifts lifting half what I normally do, 60kg, and I felt a pain in my back.
“I was going to the gym five or six times a week and, when you go to the gym, you have a mentality of pushing through the pain so I just carried on.
“The next day my back was still hurting but I wanted to continue my gym routine. But [the pain] got really bad after a week or so.
“I kept pushing myself and made it worse.
“It got so bad, I couldn’t move. At that point I stopped going to the gym entirely.
“I started getting more worried when I was having these bowel and bladder issues.
“I went for my MRI and they diagnosed me just from the image because the disc was so big.
“I had emergency surgery within 24 hours. I didn’t know anything about CES and I still didn’t really believe I had it because it was so rare.
I was definitely scared I could be paralysed from this
Jodie Wickers
“I was definitely scared I could be paralysed from this.
“Everyone said CES was so rare, so even though being paralysed was so rare too, it seemed like a possibility.
“I started to realise that if they didn’t operate, this could get even worse.”
Jodie underwent lumbar decompression surgery to relieve pressure in the nerves of the lower spine.
Her lasting nerve damage and weakness in her legs means she’s now reliant on a walking stick and can’t go to the gym as often.
Jodie said: “I now have a lot of leg weakness and sciatica so I can’t walk that far. I’ll get shooting pains down my leg.
“The hardest part for me is having to use a walking stick because my legs are weaker now. I use it every day and don’t really go out without it.
“The nerves could rebuild, they could not – we don’t know. I would do anything to lift weights again.
“You never think you could be paralysed or be incontinent [from lifting weights]. If I knew I would’ve been more cautious and gone to the doctors sooner.
“I love the gym but want more people to know about the risks involved and to be aware of the symptoms.”
Sun Health has contacted CrossFit for comment.
Cauda equina syndrome
Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a rare and severe type of spinal stenosis where all of the nerves in the lower back suddenly become severely compressed.
Symptoms include:
- sciatica on both sides
- weakness or numbness in both legs
- numbness around or under your genitals
- bladder and bowel incontinence
It is rare, occurring in one to three in 100,000 people and the condition is usually caused by a large prolapsed disc in your lower back.
According to the NHS, CES requires emergency hospital admission and may require emergency surgery because the longer it goes untreated, the greater the chance it will lead to permanent paralysis and incontinence.
Source: NHS