2 days ago, I spoke a little about my health condition on twitter.

For those who don't know what Cervical Spondylosis is, here is a little more explanation and how it has affected me ��

Cervical spondylosis is a fancy medical term for osteoarthritis in the neck area of the spine.

It can be described as wear and tear of the discs that cushions the spinal vertebrae and is mostly caused by bad posture (I'll talk about how this came about later)

This type of arthritis is usually age-related and is mostly present in people over age of 40.

Unfortunately for me, I was diagnosed at the age of 23.

As a personal trainer and an athlete, it took a toll on my career.

I had chronic pain for 1 year straight and mild pain for another year.

The prescribed pain killers didn't work for me so I had to find relief some other way.

My Pain Regions

Neck pain: This stopped as soon as I quit my job at the gym, quit lifting weights, playing basketball and flag football.

Joint pain: At first i didn't want to stop playing sport so I would wear a knee brace, ankle brace, wrist brace just to reduce the impact.

It didn't help so I had to stop playing sport completely.

The pain got so severe that I needed a knee brace just to walk.

I felt like an old woman

It made me depressed for a very long time

Food became my escape for a while, i ate a lot and added some inches around my waist

Pinched nerve: This was the most severe pain I experienced, the pain was so sharp around my left scapula that I sometimes felt like hitting an hammer on that spot.

I sometimes pressed my back on a lacrosse ball to ease the pain temporarily (this is kinda psychological)

I did Physiotherapy for a while, no change

I stopped playing sport, no change

I stretched, no change

I tried yoga for a while but I was too bored so i stopped.

I'm used to doing exercises that gets heart racing and yoga didn't give me that satisfaction

It's been 3 years now and I'm still managing the pain.

The pain comes and goes now

If I lift anything heavy, it triggers it

If I'm stressed, it triggers it

If I show my clients how to do certain exercises, it triggers it (i don't have a choice on this cos I gotta pay my bills)

I've had to navigate from being fully hands on, working out alongside my clients to simply showing examples and focusing on the management aspect of my career.

Before i stopped lifting weights 3 years ago, I had hit a personal record of:

100kg Squat
110kg Deadlift

despite weighing between 58kg - 60kg.

I really love playing basketball

I miss playing flagfootball (i had played this for about 2 months before the pain started)

I also love lifting weights

but i can't do any of that for now

I have to choose between being able to walk or being paralysed

oh Bleep �

Maybe one day, I'd find a great orthopedic surgeon and I'll be able to do the things I love again but till then �

Pain can be a depressor

It can also be a motivator

It got me all bleeped up for a long time

It has also pushed me, opened my eyes to see opportunities in places that i wasn't looking at before.

Life is crazy for real

One minute, you've got your life all planned

The next minute you are so fucking confused

Midlife crisis here and there

Trust me there's a rock bottom worse than rock bottom

But at the end of the day, you will be fine

You just gotta try to stay positive and hold on just a little bit longer.

Hi,

Share your MRI film and reports. I will ask with my neurosurgeon

Tris24:
2 days ago, I spoke a little about my health condition on twitter.

For those who don't know what Cervical Spondylosis is, here is a little more explanation and how it has affected me ��

Cervical spondylosis is a fancy medical term for osteoarthritis in the neck area of the spine.

It can be described as wear and tear of the discs that cushions the spinal vertebrae and is mostly caused by bad posture (I'll talk about how this came about later)

This type of arthritis is usually age-related and is mostly present in people over age of 40.

Unfortunately for me, I was diagnosed at the age of 23.

As a personal trainer and an athlete, it took a toll on my career.

I had chronic pain for 1 year straight and mild pain for another year.

The prescribed pain killers didn't work for me so I had to find relief some other way.

My Pain Regions

Neck pain: This stopped as soon as I quit my job at the gym, quit lifting weights, playing basketball and flag football.

Joint pain: At first i didn't want to stop playing sport so I would wear a knee brace, ankle brace, wrist brace just to reduce the impact.

It didn't help so I had to stop playing sport completely.

The pain got so severe that I needed a knee brace just to walk.

I felt like an old woman

It made me depressed for a very long time

Food became my escape for a while, i ate a lot and added some inches around my waist

Pinched nerve: This was the most severe pain I experienced, the pain was so sharp around my left scapula that I sometimes felt like hitting an hammer on that spot.

I sometimes pressed my back on a lacrosse ball to ease the pain temporarily (this is kinda psychological)

I did Physiotherapy for a while, no change

I stopped playing sport, no change

I stretched, no change

I tried yoga for a while but I was too bored so i stopped.

I'm used to doing exercises that gets heart racing and yoga didn't give me that satisfaction

It's been 3 years now and I'm still managing the pain.

The pain comes and goes now

If I lift anything heavy, it triggers it

If I'm stressed, it triggers it

If I show my clients how to do certain exercises, it triggers it (i don't have a choice on this cos I gotta pay my bills)

I've had to navigate from being fully hands on, working out alongside my clients to simply showing examples and focusing on the management aspect of my career.

Before i stopped lifting weights 3 years ago, I had hit a personal record of:

100kg Squat
110kg Deadlift

despite weighing between 58kg - 60kg.

I really love playing basketball

I miss playing flagfootball (i had played this for about 2 months before the pain started)

I also love lifting weights

but i can't do any of that for now

I have to choose between being able to walk or being paralysed

oh Bleep �

Maybe one day, I'd find a great orthopedic surgeon and I'll be able to do the things I love again but till then �

Pain can be a depressor

It can also be a motivator

It got me all bleeped up for a long time

It has also pushed me, opened my eyes to see opportunities in places that i wasn't looking at before.

Life is crazy for real

One minute, you've got your life all planned

The next minute you are so fucking confused

Midlife crisis here and there

Trust me there's a rock bottom worse than rock bottom

But at the end of the day, you will be fine

You just gotta try to stay positive and hold on just a little bit longer.

It's so frustrating. Am having same issue with my mom. Her case is brain tumor..

There's rock bottom worst than rock bottom.

May Lord save us and end our pain positively

My mum is going through same. How have you been managing the pain