Gabby Windey is opening up about the bizarre accident that left her with a broken back.
The “Bachelorette” alum, 35, revealed Friday, Oct. 2, that she injured her spine after falling from a vibrating workout plate.
Windey shared photos from her hospital visit on Instagram, including a picture of herself wearing a hospital gown and an X-ray of her spine.
Windey Opens Up About the Injury
“I’ve broken my back due to a speedy vibration. And I’ve barely lived to tell the story,” she captioned the post.
Windey went into greater detail about the accident in a Substack essay titled “Broke back, no mountain,” explaining how her regular use of the workout device ultimately led to her injury.
“Most mornings, I vibrate. On a plate,” she wrote. “The vibration plate is designed to rid stagnant lymph fluid, by shaking up the turgid and sallow with probable microplastics, from my rotting carcass. And then one excretes the toxins by way of pissing it out.”
Vibration plates are platforms that vibrate while a person stands on them. They can be used as part of exercise and are said to promote strength, flexibility and circulation and potentially increase bone mass.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant said she was using the device at level 30 on the morning of her accident, describing the speed as “supersonic.”
“Seemingly, subtly, somewhere on the way to 30, maybe 10 or 20, my vertebrae turn crooked and rub against each other,” she wrote. “A small piece breaks off from friction. It catches air. Then it lands softly, too softly, so softly the landing’s in question.”
She described the moment as the final straw that caused her injury.
“And that’s what did it. The straw and the camel. I assume the camel couldn’t feel the last straw and I couldn’t feel the crooked or the crack.”
Windey added, “It was too fast vibrations I guess, and too many vibrations maybe, and too much pressure to shake. And it broke. Broke right off, like your ex-boyfriend’s bumper.”
She Still Has Problems From the Accident
The reality star also opened up about the lingering effects of the injury, including chronic paresthesia. The condition can cause sensations such as tingling, numbness or pins and needles.
“If I had to pick one word to describe this tickle of this nerve, it’s tormenting. No. Maybe tantalizing. No, titillating. Yes, titillating!” she wrote.
Windey emphasized that her injury has had a significant impact on her daily life.
“Hear me when I say, this is not just a trite and colloquial miss-work excuse,” she wrote. “It is debilitating in its affliction and indignant in its movement. And mind you, reader, it is an extremely acceptable reason to call out of work.”
She also joked about joining what she called a “society of bad backs,” describing how people with serious back problems often share their experiences with others.
The injury prompted Windey to reflect on the beauty routines and wellness practices she had embraced before the accident. She questioned whether those habits were truly forms of self-care or were influenced by societal expectations surrounding appearance.
“Is it the beauty standard? Or is it self-love and care? The boundaries blur. Do we just convince ourselves that all this apparati is used out of self-love and care?” she wrote.
Windey, who previously worked as an ICU nurse before pursuing entertainment, has frequently discussed confidence and beauty standards.
Her latest essay combines humor with a candid look at the unexpected consequences of a wellness routine, as she adjusts to life with a painful back injury.
Comments
Gabby Windey Says She Broke Her Back in Freak Vibrating Workout Plate Accident