Question
Hi Dr. Clay,
I first want to tell you that I have learned more about bodybuilding from you than any other person, mag, website, etc!! I really want to thank you for this and you better believe I tell all my buddies, peers, co-workers, etc, about your site, e-books, columns (t-muscle)!!!
I also had a question as my wife has had two back surgeries, I forget the “medical” name for them, but they took out a disc in her neck and replaced the disc with a piece of her hip bone. She wants to get back into shape, but she’s doesn’t know where to start and if she’s afraid if she hires a personal trainer that the personal trainer will cause her to hurt herself by pushing her to much!!
Do you have any suggestions? I would greatly appreciate any help you can give us and I’ll pay for your professional help, as I know your time is valuable!! Thank you so much and best wishes to you/your family!! – Dave
Answer
Dave, thanks for the kind words and especially for helping to spread the word! I really appreciate it. 
And since you buttered me up so well, I’m going to answer your question right here at DrClay.com – so save that money to buy my next book or DVD when it comes out 
It sound like they may have done a discectomy (fancy doctor-term for “removed the disc”) and a fusion. Now keep in mind that I’m a doctor of chiropractic (etc), NOT a surgeon. So although exercise is definitely my area of expertise, surgery and surgical techniques are not. Moving on…
First and foremost, your wife should ask her surgeon if she has any limitations on exercise. If so, don’t do what he says not to do – simple enough. But let’s say he says there are no specific limitations, but that she just needs to ease into it and be safe. If that’s the case then she simply needs to ‘train smart’ like we all should do.
But she should pay careful attention to putting excess stress on her neck. For example, heavy shrugs (which women almost never need to do anyway) might be a concern.
But I think the main thing is for her to figure out (with some help from a good biomechanics expert) what caused the problem in the first place. And I suspect postural problems are part (probably a large part) of the equation. Proper neck alignment is of utmost concern, both in and out of the gym.
I’d recommend your wife read my article called Sexy Upper Body Posture. It will help her out a bit and show her some stretches and light exercises that might help.
Lastly, assuming her surgeon gives her the go-ahead, then it’s important to not ‘baby’ the old injury too much. This can be as problematic in many cases as overdoing it.
I hope that helps get her pointed in the right direction.
All the best!
Dr Clay
