Taken from JRE #2036 w/Kurt Angle:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4AtV76QOmhvufzQgYeLQnh?si=56edcf3b96104eb6

What happened was I got thrown on my head the first round of the Olympic trials, and I broke my neck and I didn't know it, so I kept wrestling.

Arms were numb and my neck was in excruciating pain, and I wrestled through the semis and won, and then I had to go on to the finals and wrestle and I won there.

So I won the first round of the Olympic trials with my neck broken.

I went home the next day and I went to my doctor and he took an MRI of my neck.

He said, you have 4 discs, or 4 broken vertebrae and 2 discs sticking directly on your spinal cord.

He said, you can't wrestle anymore, you're done.

So I went to another doctor and he said basically the same thing, but he said, when is the next round of the trials?

I might be able to get you ready by then.

He said, well, you're not gonna be able to train much.

You're gonna have to let your neck rest and heal for the next 6 weeks.

And it won't be completely healed, but it'll be healed enough that you can still go.

And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have a doctor travel with you.

And this doctor's gonna stick you with 12 shots of Novocain in your neck 5 minutes before each 1 of your matches.

He said therefore you won't feel the pain, you'll forget your neck is broken and you'll wrestle more freely.

But he said I'm warning you an hour after your matches are over you're going to be in excruciating pain from the abuse your neck takes during those matches." And he said, are you okay with this?

I mean, there was no guarantee I was gonna make the Olympic team in 2000 or 2004.

Realizing a guy with a fucking broken neck just kicked my ass.

Like, not only did he beat me, Not only did he win, he won with a broken neck.

So I went to the Olympics and we did the same thing there.

And I retired for a few years and that was that.

Did it heal up 100% or has it always been fucking with you since then?

I always had problems with it, especially my motor skills and my hands.

I broke my neck 4 more times in the WWE And it got worse and worse.

I don't have, I lost 3 inches in both arms.

They atrophied because my neck was just so messed up.

And I've had 5 surgeries and none of them have really worked.

I'm gonna end up having to have fusion, which will be down the line.

I forget which country, I can't remember, Colombia.

I, you know what, I can't feel my pinky fingers.

You know, I have a lot of atrophy in my arms.

When I do triceps, I can only push the weights about 60 pounds forward.

It's just I don't have a lot of strength in my upper body.

And so the thing is, all right, if you look at my chest right here, you'll see there's a dip here.

That's a nerve that died and no longer have this muscle in my chest.

I have a complete ripple through my chest.

And I'm afraid it's going to happen again.

So I'm going to have to have fusion sooner than later, because if I don't, the damage is gonna get worse and worse, and then my arms are gonna end up just shrinking to nothing.

No, but you know what, I just got an email from a doctor in New York, and he told me he was doing it and so I'm gonna call him in this next couple weeks to see if we can set up an appointment.

Aljermaine Sterling, the former UFC band-away champion, he injured his neck really badly and then got fouled in a title fight.

Actually it was a very controversial because Pyotr Ion, the Russian cat who hit him with a knee to the head while he was down, lost his title that way.

So he lost his title because even though Al Jermaine's a sensational fighter, Everybody was giving him shit because he won the title because of that.

So then he goes and gets a disc replaced in his neck, defends the title and dominates Piotr Jan in the rematch.

And then goes on to defend the title a couple more times and then just lost it to Sugar Sean O'Malley, but he's got an artificial disc in

So instead of fusing the disc, this titanium, See if you can find it online, Jamie.

Articulating titanium disc replacement for spinal vertebrae.

So Eddie Bravo has 1 in his lower back, too.

And what they do is they, this is what it looks like.

So they, instead of fusing your discs, which the problem with fusing your vertebrae is you no longer have any movement.

With this, it allows you to have movement.

And I think it lasts for a long fucking time.

I had a doctor when I broke my neck the second time.

And he told me that he's going to have to do 3 levels, and then I'd have to retire.

And I was like, oh, that might not be an option.

It was the same doctor that Stone Cold Steve Austin had.

And Steve still has problems to this day with the fusion.

Everybody I know that had fusion has real problems.

Yeah, see, that's why I'm nervous about getting it.

And that's why I'm glad I found this doctor in New York City that can do it.

I didn't know it was like there was no there was a doctor out there that could do that kind of stuff.


Speaker 0: The Joe Rogan Experience

Speaker 1: Microphone

Speaker 0: up close to you, there you go.

Speaker 1: What happened was I got thrown on my head the first round of the Olympic trials, and I broke my neck and I didn't know it, so I kept wrestling. Arms were numb and my neck was in excruciating pain, and I wrestled through the semis and won, and then I had to go on to the finals and wrestle and I won there. So I won the first round of the Olympic trials with my neck broken. I went home the next day and I went to my doctor and he took an MRI of my neck. He said, you have 4 discs, or 4 broken vertebrae and 2 discs sticking directly on your spinal cord.

He said, you can't wrestle anymore, you're done. I was devastated, man. I didn't know what to do. I figured I better get a second opinion. So I went to another doctor and he said basically the same thing, but he said, when is the next round of the trials?

I said, 6 weeks. He said, you know what? I might be able to get you ready by then. I said, what's your plan? He said, well, you're not gonna be able to train much.

You're gonna have to let your neck rest and heal for the next 6 weeks. And it won't be completely healed, but it'll be healed enough that you can still go. And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have a doctor travel with you. And this doctor's gonna stick you with 12 shots of Novocain in your neck 5 minutes before each 1 of your matches. He said therefore you won't feel the pain, you'll forget your neck is broken and you'll wrestle more freely.

But he said I'm warning you an hour after your matches are over you're going to be in excruciating pain from the abuse your neck takes during those matches." And he said, are you okay with this? And I said, yes, and it worked. Wow.

Speaker 2: What a decision to make.

Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't have a choice. I mean, there was no guarantee I was gonna make the Olympic team in 2000 or 2004. This is my 1 time. This is my 1 shot.

Speaker 0: Imagine those guys you beat. Yeah. Realizing a guy with a fucking broken neck just kicked my ass.

Speaker 1: I never thought about that.

Speaker 2: Like, not only did he beat me, Not only did he win, he won with a broken neck. Amazing.

Speaker 1: Yeah. So I went to the Olympics and we did the same thing there. Wow. And I was able to get through it. And that's when I retired.

And I retired for a few years and that was that.

Speaker 0: Did it heal up 100% or has it always been fucking with you since then?

Speaker 1: I always had problems with it, especially my motor skills and my hands. I broke my neck 4 more times in the WWE And it got worse and worse. I mean, I have nerve damage in my neck. I don't have, I lost 3 inches in both arms. They atrophied because my neck was just so messed up.

And I've had 5 surgeries and none of them have really worked. I'm gonna end up having to have fusion, which will be down the line.

Speaker 0: Have you done stem cells?

Speaker 1: I tried, it didn't work.

Speaker 0: It didn't do it? Where'd you go?

Speaker 1: I went to South America. I forget which country, I can't remember, Colombia. Yeah. Colombia, Yeah.

Speaker 0: Did you go to bioxcellerator?

Speaker 1: Did you go to that place? Yes I did.

Speaker 0: A lot of athletes, a lot of fighters go

Speaker 1: down there. Yeah, it didn't work for me.

Speaker 0: Really? Just so much damage, huh?

Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, just too much.

Speaker 0: I wonder if you just kept going. Whew, So what's the extent of it now?

Speaker 1: I, you know what, I can't feel my pinky fingers. You know, I have a lot of atrophy in my arms. I don't have a lot of strength. I can curl for like 20-pound dumbbells. When I do triceps, I can only push the weights about 60 pounds forward.

It's just I don't have a lot of strength in my upper body. And so the thing is, all right, if you look at my chest right here, you'll see there's a dip here. Yeah. Okay. That's from my neck.

That's a nerve that died and no longer have this muscle in my chest. I have a complete ripple through my chest. It will never come back. And I'm afraid it's going to happen again. So I'm going to have to have fusion sooner than later, because if I don't, the damage is gonna get worse and worse, and then my arms are gonna end up just shrinking to nothing.

Speaker 0: Have you looked into replacement discs?

Speaker 1: No, but you know what, I just got an email from a doctor in New York, and he told me he was doing it and so I'm gonna call him in this next couple weeks to see if we can set up an appointment.

Speaker 0: Aljermaine Sterling, the former UFC band-away champion, he injured his neck really badly and then got fouled in a title fight. Actually it was a very controversial because Pyotr Ion, the Russian cat who hit him with a knee to the head while he was down, lost his title that way. So he lost his title because even though Al Jermaine's a sensational fighter, Everybody was giving him shit because he won the title because of that. So then he goes and gets a disc replaced in his neck, defends the title and dominates Piotr Jan in the rematch. Beats him in the rematch.

And then goes on to defend the title a couple more times and then just lost it to Sugar Sean O'Malley, but he's got an artificial disc in

Speaker 1: his neck. It worked. It worked. It worked extremely well for him, yeah.

Speaker 0: It worked, and he's good. He's good to go now.

Speaker 1: What did they make that out of? I need to look into that.

Speaker 0: Titanium. It's a titanium articulating disc. So instead of fusing the disc, this titanium, See if you can find it online, Jamie. Articulating titanium disc replacement for spinal vertebrae. Cervical, I think.

So Eddie Bravo has 1 in his lower back, too.

Speaker 1: So they do lower backs, too?

Speaker 0: Yeah, they do lower backs. And what they do is they, this is what it looks like. So they, instead of fusing your discs, which the problem with fusing your vertebrae is you no longer have any movement. With this, it allows you to have movement. And I think it lasts for a long fucking time.

Speaker 1: You know, it's crazy. I had a doctor when I broke my neck the second time. He wanted me to do fusion. And he told me that he's going to have to do 3 levels, and then I'd have to retire. And I was like, oh, that might not be an option.

It was the same doctor that Stone Cold Steve Austin had. And Steve still has problems to this day with the fusion.

Speaker 0: Everybody I know that had fusion has real problems.

Speaker 1: Yeah, see, that's why I'm nervous about getting it. And that's why I'm glad I found this doctor in New York City that can do it. I didn't know it was like there was no there was a doctor out there that could do that kind of stuff.

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How Kurt Angle Won an Olympic Golden Medal with a Broken Neck