October 22, 2025

A simple sneeze turned into a terrifying health crisis for a 29-year-old woman in Delhi. Dr. Ubaidur Rahman, an orthopedic and sports surgeon at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, shared this startling story on Instagram to raise awareness about hidden spinal dangers. "She was just 29. Healthy. Lively. The kind of person whose laughter filled a room," Dr. Rahman wrote. Everything seemed fine until one sharp sneeze on a Tuesday morning changed everything. At first, the young woman thought nothing of it. She laughed it off and continued her workday. But by evening, her back had started aching. By night, her legs felt strange and heavy. The very next day, shockingly, she could not walk. Rushed to the hospital by worried friends, she had tests done. Blood work and X-rays showed no problems. Doctors thought it was a minor nerve pinch and told her not to worry. But her condition quickly grew worse. Her legs stopped responding, and every attempt to stand ended in a painful fall. "She cried, but no one could explain why," Dr. Rahman said. Within 48 hours, her lively world shrank to the view of the hospital ceiling. Initial scans seemed normal, but the real culprit was found with an MRI—a massive slipped disc pressing hard on her spinal cord. Dr. Rahman explained, "That one sneeze was the last straw. Her body had been warning her for months — stiffness, dull aches, pins-and-needles sensations — but she called it ‘just posture.’ Ignoring these small signals turned into a medical emergency." This dramatic case is a loud wake-up call. Even small, occasional aches or discomfort can hide serious problems. Dr. Rahman urges everyone to listen carefully to their body and get medical help quickly if symptoms don’t go away. Dr. Ubaidur Rahman is an experienced orthopedic surgeon at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi. With qualifications like MBBS, MS (Orthopaedics), DNB (Orthopaedics), and MNAMS, he treats complex bone and joint cases and uses social media to spread important health messages.

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Tags: Spinal cord, Slipped disc, Orthopedic surgery, Back pain, Dr. ram manohar lohia hospital, Sneeze injury,