Stevie Richards ‘Out Of The Woods’ After Dealing With Spinal Infection

Stevie Richards shares where he’s at in his recovery process from a recent illness.

Speaking with WSI | Wrestling Shoot Interviews, Stevie Richards detailed how he’s on the mend from a recent spinal infection that had him in a wheelchair for a time. Richards says he first started experiencing symptoms several months ago. He recalls getting home from working out and not being able to get out of his chair, noting that the pain was unlike any he’d ever had experienced before.

“I was completely stuck in my chair and it was just a mystery, like my back has locked out, but not to the point where my legs are almost useless. Not, paralyzed, not numb. But it hurt so bad I couldn’t put pressure on my legs ‘cause it would shoot up into my back. So my wife, literally from 9:00 AM when I got home and then at noon had me in a walker. I went right to a walker. I’m moving around and it’s just now fear. The early set of fears settling in like, well, I’ve never experienced pain like this.”

Richards underwent testing and found out that his spine was infected. After ruling out unclean gym equipment, it was determined that the infection was a result of getting bitten by a friend’s dog a few months earlier.

“I was over at my best friend’s house and his dogs got freaked out by something that happened. And I just happened to be petting one of the dogs. It bit me right in the face and like, right through the skin… The other [dog] got freaked out by the noise and then got freaked out ‘cause the dog got freaked out and bit me in the leg. It was a goofy thing, but the point of that was number one, I’m glad it didn’t bite my wife. I’m glad it didn’t bite the neighborhood kids that were over in the house either, ‘cause it would’ve been a lot more traumatic to have that. I can at least grow the beard out and cover it somewhat.”

Richards says he’s getting better but he still needs to be careful, noting how his immunity was compromised from the ordeal.

“Besides the CT scan, I’m officially out of the woods, but I also have to be very careful because the effects, so the effects from the spine infection have still lowered my immunity. I’m down about 35 pounds still, which I wanted to lean out, but I didn’t wanna do it that way, but I’m down from, I was down from 215lbs and I dropped to 180lbs. Now I’m around 180, 180 5. But my workouts, I have to say thank God, have been outside of hip hinging movements and putting any kind of pressure, axial pressure on my neck or my spine.

“I’m pretty much able to do just about everything. Now, what I’ve done, James, too, because I’m really a fitness enthusiast and that’s why my fitness brand, I started my fitness journey all over again and I’m still, technically even after about two months, I’m cardio, like 90% isometrics, some suspension, body weight training, and maybe a little bit of cable work, but isometrics have been.”