Over the years, Ronnie Coleman has endured more than a dozen surgeries on his spine, hips, and neck to keep moving. The man who once squatted 800 pounds saw that same grind break his body down. So what really happened? Let’s hear it from an orthopedic surgeon.

On February 19, orthopedic sports surgeon Dr. David Abbasi, MD, shared a video on his Instagram handle explaining what really went wrong with Coleman.

While sharing a photo of the former Mr. Olympia highlighting his knee, Abbasi said, “You can see the level of his kneecap here, and then you have this dip over here, so it looks like you have swelling. So he had atrophy of the quadriceps muscles.”

Abbasi noted that it was due to the atrophy of the quadriceps muscles that Coleman's Knee joints appeared swollen and larger. However, it’s not that the knee is actually huge. The muscle simply makes it look bigger compared to the other side

All of this was a consequence of his intense workouts over the years. Coleman even admitted that, even when he felt something was wrong with him, he continued training.

“I just kept working out,” Coleman said on The Joe Rogan Experience once. “There was a loud crunching sound. I lost a little strength. I heard it, but the athlete in you is like, ‘Let’s go on.’”

After retiring from the sport, the real problems began when he was unable to handle day-to-day tasks, which forced him to undergo eight back surgeries, three neck operations, and two hip replacements just to function properly. Well, Abbasi is not alone in his assessment.

Surgeon Reacts to Ronnie Coleman’s Mistakes

“When you’re squatting 800 pounds and calling it nothing, you’re putting thousands of pounds of pressure on your spine,” said Dr. Antonio Webb, a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon.

Webb noted that pushing the limits of the human body does come with some irreversible damage, and in Coleman’s case, it was disc degeneration, an irreversible condition once the cushion between the bones collapses.

The doctor cautions, “The body needs time to recover. Without rest, muscles and joints break down faster than they can repair.” Webb’s warning to the lifters?

Always make sure to train for longevity, listen to your body, rest & recovery are a must, and most importantly, avoid ego-lifting.

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Joyita Das