A young woman has told of the terrifying moment she broke her spine while lifting weights at the gym and had no idea until she woke up the following morning unable to move a muscle.
, from Sydney, was preparing for a World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) competition in early 2018 and worked at the gym at the time.
During a leg training session she was deadlifting and Latest News squatting 120kg.
Everything seemed fine until the following morning.
‘I went home to bed, woke up and couldn’t move. The pain was unbearable,’ Josie, now 27, told FEMAIL.
‘My boyfriend at the time had to carry me into the car and take me straight to the hospital.’
Josie spent four months in hospital followed by two months of recovery at home.
To this day her back still isn’t the same – and physios say it likely never will be.
Josie Kuntze was preparing for a World Beauty Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) competition in 2018 and also worked at the gym prior to breaking her back in a freak accident (pictured in 2018)
Now 27, the YouTuber recalled being in agonising pain the morning after training legs and couldn’t work.
Her boyfriend at the time had to carry her to the car and into hospital
She visited the emergency room twice, waited a gruelling seven hours each time, only to be sent home with Panadol.
‘I was crying, screaming and couldn’t walk on my own. I have no idea why doctors didn’t do any scans,’ Josie said.
Her mum finally said ‘enough is enough’ and took her to another hospital where physicians conducted MRI and CT scans.
It was finally determined Josie’s back was broken in several different spots – she had bulging and herniated disks as well as a fractured spine.
‘I was in that hospital for months.
Couldn’t shower on my own, couldn’t brush my own hair.. it was truly a difficult time for me,’ she said.
‘Doctors basically said it’s a matter of the bone healing over time – because obviously my whole back couldn’t be put in a cast.’
She visited the emergency room twice only to be sent home with Panadol each time and claims doctors didn’t conduct any scans. Her mum finally said ‘enough is enough’ and took her to another hospital where physicians determined her back was broken
She couldn’t walk, couldn’t go to the bathroom or sit up without assistance, which impacted both her physical and mental health.
‘I was young, in my 20s, and loved exercising, so it was really difficult being still and laying in a hospital bed for so long,’ Josie said.
From a young age she had always wanted to travel, but the injury put her plans on hold.
Through rehabilitation and working with chiropractors and physios for six months, she slowly learnt how to walk again.
There was even one point where Josie wasn’t sure if she would ever walk again.
‘I had to learn how to take my first steps again, I felt like I was 60,’ Josie said.
‘When I eventually got back on my feet, my physio told me “This isn’t something that can be fixed, it can only be managed”.
‘To be honest hearing those words honestly made me feel better, because I had worried for so long what the outcome would be.’
It was finally determined Josie’s back was broken in several different spots – she had bulging and herniated disks as well as a fractured spine.
‘I was in that hospital for months,’ she said
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox femail" data-version="2" id="mol-cde2ff50-b988-11ed-b20e-a5ecc56b3c70" website who broke her back lifting weights learns how to walk again