Eamonn Holmes’s ‘very unusual’ health condition after TV legend says he’s on ‘borrowed time’

Eamonn Holmes’s ongoing health battle has been described as ‘rare’ by an expert.

The GB News presenter, 64, said he was on ‘borrowed time’ this week and now requires a high-tech wheelchair after he slipped three discs in 2021 and initially lost ‘full mobility.’

Ulrik Sandstrøm, vice president of the British Chiropractic Association, told that it is ‘very unusual’ for a patient to suffer long-term problems after ‘slipping discs’, medically known as a disc herniation or prolapse.

He said that in around 80% of cases of disc prolapses, the condition heals itself over time and does not require continued medical treatment.

Since his chronic back problems began, Eamonn has been pictured using crutches and wheelchairs and previously said he was ‘working hard’ at trying to walk but that it was ‘very hard’ to get through an average day.

Ulrik said it was ‘not hugely unusual’ for people who have suffered a disc herniation to initially struggle with their mobility. ‘I don’t know anything specifically about Eamonn’s case,’ he explained. ‘But it sounds like the pressure on the nerve to his legs basically meant that his legs didn’t then fully work.’

To help ease his symptoms, Eamonn underwent spinal surgery in 2022 andhis recovery involved treatments including having his ‘spine stretched.’

Ulrik said having surgery is the ‘worst case scenario’ for a disc prolapse and tends to be a last resort.

Usually, patients would visit chiropractors and there is now ‘really good evidence’ that spinal manipulation, which entails little, quick movements into the spine, is ‘helpful’ in managing discs.

‘I’ve had patients who were signed up for surgery three weeks before they came to me and actually ended up getting so much better with manipulation and chiropractic treatment they ended up cancelling the surgery,’ Ulrik said.

Ulrik added that surgeons often recommend patients book appointments with chiropractors first before having operations.

The former This Morning presenter also claimed that during his operation ‘two things went wrong so I have two things in my back I don’t want’ in his latest update.

However, Ulrik reassured potential patients that it is ‘rare’ for surgery to be unsuccessful. He added that operations that do not go according to plan are typically due to other complications.

At yesterday’s Tric Awards, Eamonn also said he was on ‘borrowed time’ although it was not clear what he was referring to.

Asked whether disc prolapses typically affect life expectancy, Ulrik said: ‘I’m not aware of any even chronic lower back pain that would have a significant effect on life expectancy.

‘I guess that maybe what Eamonn was saying was that he hasn’t got a lot of time being mobile.

‘But the general message from the British Chiropractic Association is that there’s a lot of optimism about back pain and most people can live a relatively happy, mobile life even if they have chronic, long-term back pain.’

As for what causes disc herniation, Ulrik said they were genetic and sometimes ‘just happen.’ They typically occur in younger people, with Ulrik often treating patients in their 20s, and the middle-aged.

Eamonn previously said his back pain came ‘out of the blue’ and implied there was not an obvious cause.

Explaining how you suffer disc herniations, Ulrik said: ‘It’s just one of those things. It can often classically be that case of someone bends down to pick up a piece of paper and it was the final straw and the disc bulges and when they stand up they’re in pain.’

As well as his health problem, it was recently announced that Eamonn was separating from his wife of 14 years, Ruth Langsford.

‘I’m not OK. This is not a good time at all,’ he admitted at the Tric Awards. ‘It’s too early to say but I hope we can still be friends.’