Touring with injuries can be particularly gnarly – and Burning Witches guitarist and former member of The Iron Maidens Courtney Cox knows this firsthand, as she recently revealed that she has spent years touring with multiple herniated discs in her back.
“I have three herniated discs in my lower back from a nasty car accident from when I was way younger, so I really have to be careful,” she explains on the Side James with Bryan Reesman podcast.
“I was too scared to have surgery, and then I was suggested not to have the surgery because I was too young,” Cox admits.
“So I’ve kind of just dealt with it. At first, I had to have an epidural every three months just to live. But as I’ve gotten older, sometimes it acts up if I move the wrong way or lift something the wrong way. Knock on wood, so far I’ve been okay.”
Cox went on to explain that the band's other guitar player – Romana Kalkuhl – had similar issues, to the point that she just had to get the surgery over and done with.
“She had the same problems I have in her lower back, and we actually almost had to end our last U.S. tour early because she moved the wrong way. Then, being in a van for hours on end, she could barely walk,” Cox went on to explain.
“She was in and out of urgent cares and getting this shot and that shot. But then, when we finally got home, she went in and had the back surgery.”
And while Cox doesn't “normally notice” any pain, she does reveal that posture is everything when she’s on stage.
“Obviously, with the strap, you can adjust and move, but with your central gravity and stuff, you have this piece of wood, so you’re constantly trying to fight not going forward and always trying to be conscious of keeping your shoulders back.
“The show must go on, though,” she concludes.
Speaking of life-changing injuries, former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland recently discussed how a stand-off with a 200lb oak door resulted in an injury that would forever change how he plays guitar.
