Jillian Michaels, 50, has made 'full recovery' from spinal injury she incurred two years ago: 'I've made adjustments to every aspect of my life'
Jillian Michaels has opened up about overcoming a spinal injury she incurred two years ago.
In an interview with People, Michaels, 50, described the steps she took to treat the injury - and how it took some trial and error to properly address the pain.
Michaels sustained a L3 vertebrae fracture and bulging discs after she slipped in her bathroom in 2022. But now, she has made a 'full recovery' and is pain-free.
She opened up to the outlet about the 'adjustments' she made in her life to overcome the injury and improve her general wellbeing.
'I've made adjustments to every aspect of my life and it actually improves my overall health. What I mean by that is I don't sit hardly ever, if possible. I have a little treadmill, like a walk pad. I got it on Amazon and I just walk at 1.7 miles an hour while I work at my computer. I take my phone calls walking around either on my walking pad or outside or on the step mill,' she told the outlet.
Jillian Michaels has opened up about healing from a 2022 slip and fall injury that left her with a spinal injury; pictured 2020
Michaels has remained conscientious about not doing anything that could further exacerbate the injury and is 'meticulous' with how she retrieves items from the floor and rotates her spin.
But it took some time for Michaels to truly comprehend what steps she needed to take to heal.
Michaels first believed she was dealing with muscle pain - but the treatments she took on nearly exacerbated the injury.
'If you don't understand the injury, any sort of spinal rotation, [it's] like, ‘Oh, I'm in so much pain. Let me stretch.’ I made all of these mistakes, which is the hilarious part because I owned a sports medicine facility,' she explained.
Michaels first revealed her injury in 2023, admitting she secretly spent a year recovering from a spinal injury after a slip-and-fall accident in the bathroom of her Florida home.
'I went running in and I smacked onto the edge of the bathtub with my back,' the Daytime Emmy nominee told People last year.
'I wish it was some gangster motorcycle story where I told you I was racing motorcycles or Lindsey Vonn-ing downhill at 60 miles an hour, but it wasn't. It makes it that much more disturbing, because in a way, it wasn't preventable.'
It took Jillian six weeks to finally go to the hospital after suffering lower back pain and 'a lightening bolt [sensation] down my leg.'
It took some time for Michaels to truly comprehend what steps she needed to take to heal
Michaels rose to fame as a coach on the weight loss reality show The Biggest Loser
'I couldn't sleep. The pain at night was so bad,' Michaels (born McKarus) recalled.
'I truly thought to myself, "The only thing I think would be worse than this would be burns." It was so crazy. I couldn't walk, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't stand. I was having to crawl on the ground. I'm like, "My life is over."'
After being misdiagnosed with a 'nerve impingement' and 'three herniated discs' - the fitness expert met spine expert Dr. Stuart McGill who determined that she had actually fractured her L3 vertebrae and had a six-millimeter herniation.
'I'm posting old videos from 20 years ago on social media,' Jillian said of keeping her injury secret.
Michaels first believed she was dealing with muscle pain - but the treatments she took on nearly exacerbated the injury
'I'm not doing any press. I've disappeared off the grid. No one knows. Nobody has any idea as all of this is going on except my immediate circle. I'm like, "I'm not telling this story until I know how this story ends."'
Dr. McGill basically ordered bed rest for Michaels, who also recovered with help from an 'excellent' assisted squat machine that takes pressure out of the back called the DB Method.
'I'm riding horses,' the former ICM literary agent gushed.
'I'm riding jet skis, I'm snowboarding. I'm just super, super careful.'
