VALOIS-FORTIER Antoine

General
LONG-TERM BACK PAIN RELIEVED
The back surgery he underwent in 2018 came after ten years of back pain that began with a herniated disc in 2008. He said the pain eventually became "unsupportable" and prompted him to undergo a discectomy in 2018, which involved "cleaning out" abnormal disc material between his L4 and L5 vertebrae. "My back was always my Achilles' Heel, I've always had pain there. It became unsupportable, and I couldn't fight properly. After trying all other possible options over ten years, I decided to take a more aggressive approach and have surgery, which seemed the right thing to do in order to do well in Tokyo [at the Olympic Games]. Now [after the surgery], I have all my mobility back. But I have to be extra careful and continue to do exercises and keep an eye on it until the end of my career." (lapresse.ca, 26 Apr 2019; lapresse.ca, 25 Jul 2018)