Whoopi Goldberg Explains Her Debilitating Back Injury and Recovery
"The View" host is back and explaining why she was sidelined.
— -- Whoopi Goldberg declared on "The View" today, "I'm back!"
The comic icon, 59, had been sidelined with a herniated disc and is back where she says she belongs. Goldberg explained today what happened to force her to miss several shows last week and the week before.
"Bad seating, when you're not seated correctly," she explained. "There are a lot of things that can make this happen."
Goldberg was joined by Dr. Richard Besser to detail the injury.
"The back is an incredibly complex area," the ABC News health and medical editor said, pointing to the lower spine and the substance that cushions the spine.
He said all those discs have to stay perfectly in line, otherwise pain can happen.
"As you get older, they become weakened," he said of the cushioning for the spine, which may have been what caused Goldberg's injury.
Nicole Wallace, Goldberg's co-host on the show, added that treatment for the injury and all injuries to the back has changed over the years. She pointed out that she visited Goldberg in the hospital and that they were making her walk for rehab.
Besser said that to prevent the injury, "furniture" like chairs and desks have to "fit you."
"You want your feet flat on the ground and legs at 90 degrees," he added. "You spend so much of you day sitting."
Goldberg was thankful she didn't need surgery and said there were moves "that you can do on your bed to rotate hips" that also can help.
Besser added he likes yoga for flexibility and core strength.