“On the morning of the finals, she called me in tears, distraught. She was in excruciating pain at the time,” she said about her experience with neck surgeon Dr. Robert Bray.

The celebrity had suffered chronic pain since sustaining a neck injury in a major car accident in 1987.

But, after slipping a disc the night before, she was in excruciating pain right before her performance.

Grey also admitted that she had reservations about her dancing ability before the competition.

A slipped disc, also known as a herniated or ruptured disc, occurs when the tissue surrounding your spine presses against the nerves.

The extent of her issues, which included a troubling thyroid malignancy she had been dealing with for years, were only discovered around the time of the presentation.

“My doctor who examined my spine told me that not only should I not be in a car, you’re lucky you’re not paralyzed, your head is hanging off my spine, and this is why you’ve been in pain for 20 years,” she said. “I later discovered I had cancer, which had been present for four and a half years.”

Fortunately for the celebrity, steroid injections to alleviate the discomfort caused by the slipped disc enabled her to compete in the final.

Because the dances were so brief, she was cleared for the final dance the next day after inspection.

All-in-all, 2010 was a memorable year. During that year, the celebrity underwent four different neck surgeries.

In the first, a plate was implanted in her neck to treat cancer, and in the second, her thyroid was removed to treat cancer.

A slipped disc can cause lower back pain, tingling or numbness in the shoulders, and back pain, according to the NHS.

If the disc presses against the sciatic nerve, you may experience difficulty straightening your back, muscle weakness, and leg, hip, or buttock pain.

The health organization also offers tips on alleviating the pain caused by a slipped disc.

It suggests taking ibuprofen and paracetamol, but the latter is unlikely to be effective for back pain.

They also recommend being active.

“If the discomfort is severe, you may need to take some time to relax. However, start light exercise as soon as possible; it will speed up your recovery, according to the NHS.

“What kind of exercise you do isn’t important; gradually increase your activity level.”