How CrossFit Saved My Back

I fell in love with CrossFit about 5 years ago in 2017, right after having our second son.  I had been a personal trainer for years, but this was a whole new outlook on fitness based on what your body could do and not what you looked like or how much you weighed.  I went all in and got my CFL1 at the Ranch in Aromas, did my first ever pull up, and started dreaming of competing in the sport.

In April 2023, I got brave enough to launch Jessica Welch Fitness Coaching for nutrition coaching, personal training and remote coaching.  A month later I had an MRI scan that would flip our lives upside down.  The year before I had competed in the Crossfit Open and in 22.3 I failed a Bar Muscle Up trying to bet the time cap.  Little did I know that this high intensity workout would actually save my life.  I started having rib pain on my left side which I assumed was from injuring my rib at the gym, but all the x-rays said nothing was fractured.  The doctors weren’t very helpful and told me to use a lacrosse ball for the tight muscle and prescribed some pain medication.  I tried physical therapy and chiropractic but it wouldn’t go away.  Thankfully both of these rehab professionals never told me to stop doing CrossFit because they do it themselves!  Eventually it was so bad that I couldn’t sleep or lie down for more than 20 min at a time.  I’ve learned that you have to be an advocate for your health, if you know something is wrong, keep trying until you find solutions!  And find caregivers that will listen to you and support you.  I met my chiropractor through CrossFit.  He does CrossFit and distance running and has always supported my fitness goals over the years.  I knew when he got serious and told me it was time for an MRI that I could trust him.

I had just finished a garage WOD with some friends and checked my phone to see a message from radiology saying my doctor had called and ordered a second scan with contrast dye.  I immediately knew something was wrong.  I logged into my chart and started googling terrifying medical terms.  Tumor is never something you want to see on your chart.  Surgery seemed to be the only treatment option.  I pictured a small incision where you go home the same day and take it easy for 6 weeks.  This was an intradural extramedullary tumor inside the bones in my spine that was compressing my spinal cord.  The surgery would require a skilled neurosurgeon, an 8 inch incision, plates and screws, and a hospital stay.  If CrossFit prepared you for the unknown and unknowable, I was going to need that now more than ever.

The medical system would have had me waiting for months just to get in for an initial appointment but CrossFit relationships once again came through and within 6 weeks I was scheduled for surgery.  I remember asking the neurosurgeon if this surgery was entirely necessary.  He told me that usually people find these tumors in their 50’s and 60’s when they fall or have some kind of accident and it compresses their spinal cord completely and they are left paralyzed.  If we left the tumor there it would continue to grow and I would first lose control of bladder and bowels and then arms and legs, and eventually would die.  If that doesn’t terrify you as a young mom with young kids at home, I don’t know what will.  Thankfully because I had been so active in the gym and in tune with my body, we had found it.

Mentally preparing for a 4-8 hour surgery with unknown outcomes was extremely challenging.  Sadly the neurosurgery department did not give me any guidance on how to prepare my body for surgery.  But I ate well, and threw myself into strength training and high intensity workouts.  It helped me manage the stress, build muscle mass that I would need, and feel more confident going into an incredibly stressful and physically demanding situation. 

I knew a bone saw would remove two sections of my spine.  I didn’t know if it would be replaced with full fusion hardware or smaller screws and plates.  We hoped the tumor was not cancerous or attached to bone, my lung, or anything else.  Neuro monitoring would be used in surgery to make sure signal would not be lost to my bladder, arms, legs, neck, etc.  There are always risks of spinal cord injury with these types of surgeries, and no guarantees that any deficits you wake up with can be reversed.  I remember telling myself, ‘hey, you push your mind and body to the limit in training all the time and then focus on recovering from it.  You’ve literally trained for this.’

We all make plans and have hopes, dreams, and goals, and then life happens.  I’m convinced one of the only things you can be sure about is that you have to get really really good at starting over.  Here I was turning 35 in a few months, what I had thought would be my first year to see how far I would get as a Masters athlete and instead I’m staring in the face of realities like ‘what if I have cancer’ or ‘what if I can’t walk when I wake up.’  You start to really have to think about your identity and who you are outside of external things.  Being a health and fitness coach and then suddenly being faced with a health crisis of your own forces you to think about your priorities and what really matters in life.  And that’s your faith and your relationships.

It’s easy to take for granted the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and being able to move your body.  When I found out that I wouldn’t have been eligible for surgery if I was over 40% body fat, or that any nicotine use in the last 5 years would have inhibited bone healing and wound healing, it really solidified the importance of making health conscious choices.  If our health and wellness is like a savings account, then you really never know when you’re going to need it.  Only that you will in fact need it at some point.

All of the medical staff I saw were amazed that I did not have more neurological issues or deficits with a large tumor that was totally compressing my spinal cord.  They attributed it to the strength of my back muscles and tendons holding things in place.  In surgery they had to fill me with 50% less fluid than the average person because they could see and access my spine so easily.  They didn’t have to use longer and less precise instruments without a lot of adipose tissue being in the way.  My surgeon and the team were amazing and were able to remove 100% of the tumor without complications and we found out a few weeks later it was benign.  

The hospital staff told me that I would not be walking the day of surgery.  But when they saw how well I sat up, they let me take a short walk with my walker down the hall.  The first time I stood up, it felt like a max effort squat.  I remember thinking that would have felt really scary if you had never done it before.  I was extremely high on drugs and kept telling the nurses that this is why you should do CrossFit and squats!  A lot of the patients on the neurosurgery floor are extremely scared to move and require a lot more assistance.  I knew that my philosophy that movement is medicine, that our spines are resilient and our bodies are designed to move, played a big part in being able to walk a few hours after minor spine surgery.

Everyone knows that you come for the fitness and stay for the family with CrossFit.  The community truly is remarkable.  My visitors over 4 days in the hospital included not just friends and family, but my very first ever CrossFit Coach, my physical therapist from my CrossFit gym, and another MD who does CrossFit and had been through back surgery came by on his shift to give me a weightlifting belt to help me remember what I’ve gone through and that I will get back to lifting.  My husband was able to sneak away to some CrossFit classes while I was in the hospital we saw the huge impact it has on your mental health when you are facing traumatic circumstances.  Other gym members came and brought us food and one friend even shaved my legs in the shower while sitting in a full squat!  My chiropractor had our whole family over for dinner after I got out of the hospital.  Our church family and gym community rallied to help us with the kids, bring meals, scrub floors, mow the lawns, and just be there for us.  It’s incredibly humbling to accept the generosity of others when you have nothing to offer them in return.  I’ve since been blessed to be able to bring meals and offer assistance to others going through surgery or hardships!

I can’t stress how huge it is to have a rehab team that understands CrossFit and fitness and have helped me believe that I will get back to where I was and beyond, even in this incredibly challenging year long recovery process.  Sometimes challenges demand that you get creative.  I would put my rehab exercises into AMRAP’s and EMOM’s.  A friend and training partner came over to my garage and wrote “partner WOD’s” that were safe for me to do before I was back at the gym.  For the first 6 weeks I wasn’t allowed to bend or twist AT ALL or lift more than a milk jug.  So I would walk and do 2# curls in bed.  I tracked my walks as workouts.  First it was to the kitchen and back, then the mailbox and back, then around the block, and soon I had worked up to 3-5 miles away.  I would pray and journal and walk and sit in the sun to keep the depression at bay.

I learned in reverse all the benefits of high intensity training.  I lost seven pounds of muscle and gained eight pounds of fat on my 5’2” frame in just a few weeks.  And that was with walking and decent eating habits.  I watched my legs especially, atrophy before my very eyes and it was a sickening feeling to see the results of years of hard work suddenly be gone.  My core instantly shut off and it was so squishy and weak and bloated that I felt embarrassed  I didn’t want to wear a swimsuit or any of my former workout tops.  I would get exhausted from simple activities and would have to choose to go to events based on how long I would have to stand for or how comfortable the chairs were.  I hated the feeling of being fragile, being worried about stepping off a curb wrong because my balance was so bad, or being unsure about being able to go down stairs or get up off the ground without help.  And then just dealing with physical pain, isolation and lack of motivation on top of it all.  I thought, ‘wow, this is how so many people feel every single day.’  They hate how they look, have zero energy, lack confidence in physical or mental challenges, feel overwhelmed at where to start or how far they have to go,and are afraid to move because of pain.  I finally got it.  Because I was there.

But I also thought, what if sharing my story could help just one person to have hope?  What if my life could be a light in a dark world?  I’ve already seen a movement growing where exercise and nutrition coaching are no longer luxuries for celebrities but a form of preventative healthcare for the average person who wants to pursue health and longevity.  It’s what led me to launch my own business,I wanted to make access to support and accountability accessible to anyone regardless of budget or access to a gym.  I’ll always be a member of a CrossFit gym myself if I can help it.  But I would love nothing more than to help people from all walks of life and every season of life to rebuild from ground zero.

This process reignited in me an appreciation for CrossFit’s scaling methodology.  It’s truly powerful when applied correctly.  It was an opportunity for me to practice what I preach as a coach.  It wasn’t me over in the corner doing muscle ups while telling people to scale.  It was me doing lat pull downs, ring rows, hollow holds until I could do a strict pull up.  Then it was kip swings, and pull ups, and chest to bars, and eventually muscle ups again.

I won’t lie, what happened to me was awful and I hated most of it.  But what I don’t hate is that I’ve since had the opportunity to train people who’s back pain has kept them from playing golf or missing out on group fitness.  Or grandmas who saw my scaling options and said “Now that workout I could do.”  Or young lifters who ask if I can help with their technique so they can keep their back healthy.  I’ve been a part of back surgery and tumor support groups online and have been able to share the benefits of strength training in my own healing process.

Since surgery six months ago, I’ve partnered with a local restaurant in town to bring ‘Fit Meals’ to our community.  Healthy pre-made meals that are affordable and time saving.  Good nutrition is so key in reducing inflammation and avoiding so much disease and sickness.  I know it has played a huge role in my recovery and I want as many people eating better as possible!  They sent me home from the hospital with a myriad of drugs but no education on how to eat properly to support my body's healing process.

I’m not anti-medication by any means, I certainly needed a fair amount for my surgery.  I was however, able to wean off of heavy narcotics and pain medications at 3 weeks post surgery.  The doctors actually asked me why I wasn’t taking them anymore.  It’s funny, I expected they would celebrate it like a PR since I had worked really hard to get there.  But that came from my rehab team and gym buddies instead.  Pain is a really complex and uniquely human experience and I am so blessed that I was able to manage my pain in a variety of ways through ice, exercise, diet, IV nutrition, physical therapy, chiropractic, and good old fashioned hard work.  If I could help more people do the same, that would be amazing.  I even have dreams of somehow networking with healthcare providers to give support to other spine surgery patients and help them with their lifestyle factors in their preparation and recovery process.

Mindset and education are often overlooked.  I dove into rehab books like Rebuilding Milo and The Gift of Injury by Dr Stuart McGill to understand my injury and surgery and different pain mechanisms of the spine.  I have managed chronic low back pain for years and know that many other people struggle with chronic pain for which I have an ever greater amount of empathy for.  The Injured Athlete book and resources were helpful on the mental side of recovery as well.  I was very challenged to put the same intention and fire into recovery as I would into training.

I also had a passion for coaching others reignited.  How could I possibly take all that I had learned and how I had grown through this experience and not use it to help others?  It’s so easy to just get focused on your own goals or your own pain and problems, but it’s extremely helpful to turn the arrows outward.  I traveled to San Diego a few months after surgery to get my CrossFit Level 2 credential and started coaching CrossFit classes again soon after.  I have since applied and been accepted to sit for the CrossFit Level 3 exam.  I feel like the sky is the limit for reaching people with the best solution to the typical American diet and overstressed, overmedicated, sedentary lifestyles.

There were plenty of days I wanted to quit and just stay in bed.  But there is so much power in simply deciding to keep showing up.  Regardless of how you feel.  Regardless of how hard or uncomfortable it is.  Whether it's in the gym, or parenting, your marriage, your career, do the things that seem so small and insignificant that it wouldn't make a difference if you skipped them or not.  Being faithful in little, faithful in much, planting seeds to be reaped later.  That’s how I am where I am today.  I have PR’d my strict press and gotten the ability to do muscle ups and handstand walking back.  I’m not 100% by any means but I feel like I’m just getting started.  I often wondered if I would ever be the same after surgery, but now I realize I don’t want to be the same.  I want to be stronger, more resilient, more compassionate and better than before.  I want my passion for coaching and life mission for helping people to be the healthiest versions for themselves to be re-ignited and blown up!  I want to be fit enough to compete in CrossFit again and be in the best shape of my life at the oldest I’ve ever been.

I want to be thankful for every day that I can get out of bed, walk, and get dressed without help.  I missed out on bike riding, hiking and swimming with my boys this summer…never again!  Just this last week I’ve tried rock climbing for the first time, hot yoga and can’t wait for more new adventures.

 I hope to be an example of faith in Jesus who is our true healer and giver of life.  I hope to be an example of fitness as a lifestyle and a very powerful ‘drug’.  I hope to be a better wife and mom and to love my family more deeply, and to see others that are alone and bring them in.  And I hope to be part of a worldwide movement of health and fitness that swims upstream against cultural norms and promotes health and longevity for all who want it.