Jennifer Grey Speaks Out on Living With Chronic Pain

Movie star Jennifer Grey, 51, has arrived at a good place. Following years and years of chronic neck pain which almost paralyzed her, Grey has found pleasure in dancing again. 

A certain age group will remember Grey for her romantic role as Baby Houseman in the 1987 movie “Dirty Dancing,” alongside Patrick Swayze.  That same year, Grey sustained serious neck injuries in a car accident.  Years went by before her neck pain grew to debilitating levels. “I would have headaches for days on end.  My life had gotten so much smaller. I wasn’t even aware of how much pain I was in,” said Grey in a taped interview with HealthCenter.com. 

It wasn’t until she was invited to compete on the 11th season of “Dancing with the Stars,” that Grey learned what was causing her pain and that she could take steps to reduce the pain.  “I was evaluated by a doctor for the show, and he told me my spinal cord was depressed and was about to do permanent damage and possibly even paralyze me; plus, I had thyroid cancer,” said Grey.  She had a fusion and three surgeries in a row.   Following those procedures, Grey started a pain management plan.  “I was stunned by how much more like myself I felt….I’m never going to have zero pain because I have had a lot of injuries. The goal for me - I don’t want my pain to control me. I want to control my pain,” said Grey.

Watch Jennifer Grey's full interview here.

Jennifer Grey's Injuries: What Really Happened?

Jennifer Grey sustained serious injuries after a car accident that kept her from dancing in adulthood, and her amazing recovery allowed her to win Dancing with the Stars last fall and turned her into a new icon for the chronic pain community. We've heard a great deal about her success and recovery, but little about what her injuries were - and how her doctors brought her back to dancing condition.

In 1987 - just before the film Dirty Dancing was released - Grey was in a serious accident while driving with her then-boyfriend and Ferris Bueller's Day Off co-star, Matthew Broderick. Broderick was hospitalized, and two others died. Whiplash from the collision ripped several ligaments in the back of Grey's neck, and though she was treated she continued to experience painful headaches that would last for days as well as spasms in her neck when she moved her shoulders.

The Health Wire

Keeping a Daily Pain Diary

 

Keeping a daily diary is an excellent way to keep track of your pain. By taking quick notes on your pain throughout the day, you'll have a record of:

 

- What times of the day you experience pain

- Which days you were in pain this month

- Potential activities, weather changes, sleep habits or foods that trigger pain

- How long your pain lasts

- Which treatments are working and which aren't

 

You can download and print an easy-to-use pain diary here. Track your pain and bring your diary to your next doctor's visit.

Do you know a loved one who suffers from pain?

Call TCPC at 952-841-2345