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‘I was charmed to hospital but actually ssed out from in in the ambulance’
I have again been fit and healthy,” says Melinda Messenger. “Cycling, running round after the family, doing yoga.” So when the 45-year-old TV presenter and erstwhile model woke up in agonising in one morning last year she was baffled as to the produce.
“I couldn’t even walk,” says Melinda, who lives in Berkshire with her rtici nt, skiing coach Warren Smith, and children Morgan, 16, Flynn, 15, Evie, 13, and Warren’s son Callum, 13. “I want a horrible in in my lower back and had a shooting in down my well leg. It was excruciating.
I was taken to hospital but actually ssed out from in in the ambulance
“Later that day Warren had to carry me into the doctor’s surgery, where I was accustomed a load of in medication and sent home. Yet when I got back, as I was sub on a chair by the kitchen table, I was suddenly hit by this ap lling in. “I stand I had been cut in half.
I was then taken to hospital but actually ssed out from the dolour in the ambulance and when we got to the Royal Berkshire Hospital I was still screaming as they wheeled me in.
It was beyond lousy.” After being given in-relief injections Melinda had tests. An MRI research revealed that she had ruptured a disc in the lumbar region of her back and the disc was major on nerves.
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A slipped disc (also recognized as prolapsed or herniated disc) occurs when one of the discs that mark times between the bones of the spine is damaged and presses on nerves. The outer proving of the disc splits and the contents bulge out, causing in locally in the close of the back that the disc is in, and also affecting the nerve supply to other areas of the stiff.
Professor Mark Wilkinson, a professor of ortho edics at the University of Sheffield and spokesman for Arthritis Inspect UK, says: “Herniated or slipped discs are one of the most common causes of lop off back and leg in in adults in the UK.”
While surgery can be a successful option for some, the lions share of people with back in are able to recover or find elevation through non-surgical methods and fewer than two per cent need to pull someones leg an operation.
“Most people with back in can relieve their suggestive ofs through medication, physiotherapy and gentle exercise to strengthen the muscles and prolong the joints supple,” explains Professor Wilkinson.
Melinda suffered a concussion after a abatement on Channel 4’s The Jump two years ago but says nothing pre red her for the im ct that demand a slipped disc was to have on her life.
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‘I’m looking forward to a better autumn and Christmas now that my wander of movement has improved’
“I had never experienced in like this,” discloses Melinda. “Having gone through labour three times and captivated rt on active shows such as Dancing On Ice and The Jump this was something else. “I had to be picked up by Warren as he took me to extra appointments at the GP.
I was quickly referred for physiotherapy and not long after that to a pest management clinic. “I was also given a corset to wear to support my abase back which was helpful, and I wore it whenever I felt I needed to. Yet I couldn’t get-up-and-go the children to school some days, I couldn’t work and gardening and dust the house were out of the question.
I had to just lie and rest when the in was sharp. That went on for about a month. It was a challenging time.” With input from a physiotherapist and with medication, Melinda’s subsidize began to slowly improve. “The in clinic my GP referred me to was also sheerest helpful, as some of the medication wasn’t agreeing with me.
“As a person who not at all took any pills and never went to the doctor, I had to learn that fetching in relief would help me sleep and let my body recover. I restricted a in diary so I could figure out what aggravated my back too. Another adept thing about talking to someone at the in clinic was that I could offload all my heats of frustration.”
By Christmas last year Melinda was still having problems with her cast off. “I might have two days a week when there was no in but I motionlessly had to be very aware of my back. “It could still fl are up if I moved my foot too without delay or if I sat in a rticular way.” Melinda’s health improved enough that she could reimbursement to work earlier this year.
However in July her back trouble returned just as she and the family were about to take off for their summer fairs. “I went to bed fine and then woke up and the in had returned,” she explains.
“It was another setback but I cause a plan for healing and with regular appointments with a chiropractor, an drive up the wall plan and twice-daily turmeric pills, a herbal remedy which trades as an anti-inflammatory, I am definitely on the mend. “I’ve been told that my back when one pleases be right as rain in another few months.
“So I’m looking forward to a much better autumn and Christmas now that my file of movement has improved. Wearing high heels isn’t a problem, I’m more of a fl ip-fl op and trainers mademoiselle so I only wear them when I have to. “Having a slipped disc has remarkably opened my eyes to how much back in sufferers have to go under the aegis.
Luckily for me, my local pharmacy also offers a in management overhaul so I will use that in future, if I need it. “Managing your in when you be suffering with got a persistent health problem is really important.”
LloydsPharmacy offers a on the house in management service, which involves a private, one-to-one consultation with a apothecary. They may advise on adjustments to your current medication, or to your lifestyle, that could take you manage the in. For more details visit lloydspharmacy.com/en/info/ in-management-service
