Actors and Celebrities Suffer from Back and Neck pain

Stars who suffer from debilitating back pain and challenges faced as their careers move forward.

Through wondrous images brought to you on the silver screen and deliveries of Oscar-worthy performances, it is sometimes difficult to believe that some of our favorite celebrities deal with debilitating back and neck pain, and in some cases to a point where they have to reject movie scripts that would have interested them in the past.

There are many actors, dancers, and other celebrities out there who smile through their daily pains with many fans oblivious to it. For some of the most severe injuries, multiple surgeries are sometimes not enough to stop the pain.

Take George Clooney for example. While filming the 2005 title thriller Syriana, Clooney suffered a devastating back injury after hitting his head on the floor during a violent scene.  It was later discovered that he tore his dura, a tough fibrous membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord. After undergoing several corrective surgeries, Clooney still feels that his injury has never completely healed. According to a source at Eonline.com, “He just can’t do the action and stunt scenes anymore”, forcing him to drop out of the title film, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

George Clooney is not the only male heartthrob to injure himself on the set.  In June of 1983, during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Harrison Ford herniated a disc in his back.  After flying from London back to Los Angeles for an operation, he returned to the set six weeks later to finish the movie.

And don’t think it’s just the men who suffer injuries during action sequences. During the filming of Aeon Flux in Berlin, Germany, Charlize Theron suffered a herniated disc in her neck after falling during a series of back handsprings. Landing on her neck with her body straight out, the force of the impact reportedly left Charlize with a herniated disc between the third and fourth vertebrae.

Although actors continue to dazzle us with award-winning performances, underneath the surface many suffer debilitating back injuries and pain just like you and me; they are still human, and prone to the same injuries that plague the rest of us.