From Neck Surgery to State Records: Nigel's Powerlifting Comeback

Just under two years ago, Nigel was preparing for major neck surgery. Two bulging discs in his cervical spine had reached the point where conservative care wasn't enough — surgery was the next step. The road back from that kind of procedure isn't a quick one. It's measured in months, not weeks, with careful clearances along the way and plenty of patience for a body that's been through a lot.

Fast forward to May 2026 and Nigel was on the platform at his first sanctioned powerlifting competition — walking off it with two State records and a qualifying total for the National Championships in Fremantle this August.

What it looked like a year ago

Recovery from cervical disc surgery is a layered process. The structural work is one thing — the surgeon's job — but the tissue around the spine has its own road back. Muscles that have been guarded and braced for months, sometimes years, before the operation don't suddenly relax once the bones are settled. Neighbouring areas — upper back, shoulders, forearms — pick up patterns of holding and compensation that take time to unwind.

Through that whole process, Nigel was working closely with his medical team. Once he was cleared for hands-on soft tissue work, regular sessions at Massages By Sarah became part of his weekly rhythm. The focus wasn't on the neck itself — that's the surgeon and physio's terrain — but on the surrounding muscles carrying the extra load through rehab, and on giving his nervous system a chance to come down a notch between training blocks.

Six months post-op, back under the bar

Six months after surgery, with the green light from his treating team, Nigel started powerlifting. Not a return to a casual gym routine — a structured build aimed at lifting heavy things, the right way, again. For most people watching from the outside, the idea of someone loading a barbell back across their shoulders six months after neck surgery sounds wild. For Nigel, it was the goal that pulled him through every quieter week of rehab.

The early sessions were patient and progressive. Light loads, careful movement patterns, plenty of time spent rebuilding the foundation that years of training had laid down before the injury. Strength comes back. So does technique. But trust in your own body — that has its own timeline, and it's worth respecting.

The team behind the platform

Nigel trains out of 618 Barbell in Pooraka, Adelaide — a dedicated powerlifting and strength facility that's been running since 2015. It's the kind of gym built specifically for people who want to lift heavy, properly: competition-spec racks, monolifts and bench presses, and a community that ranges from first-timers through to lifters chasing State and National titles. The gym also hosts a busy calendar of sanctioned meets, which is part of what makes the environment feel real well before contest day.

His coach through the comeback has been Beaudean Lines. Coaching a lifter back from major cervical surgery is a different brief to coaching a healthy strength athlete — the programme has to push the numbers forward while leaving honest room for the body to keep recovering. Choosing when to add load, when to back off, and how to peak for a meet without overrunning the joints and tissue still finding their place again all sit on the coach's side of the equation. Beaudean's careful work has been a meaningful part of how quickly Nigel has progressed.

Performing at a competitive powerlifting level after the surgery Nigel had is a team effort, full stop. The surgeon and treating medical team did the structural work. Beaudean shaped the training. The 618 Barbell crew show up week after week as training partners, spotters and a community pushing each other along. Sarah's role has been the soft-tissue piece — week in, week out, between training blocks. None of those pieces work in isolation. Nigel showing up to all of them is what holds the picture together.

Where remedial massage fits in serious rehab

Sarah's work with Nigel through this period has been about consistency more than anything dramatic. Remedial massage techniques — sustained pressure, slow stripping strokes, focused trigger point work, gentle stretching — used to help manage the tightness that builds up across the upper back, shoulders and forearms when someone is training hard under heavy load. Cupping has been part of the mix too, particularly for areas that hold onto chronic tension and don't always respond as well to pressure alone.

None of this replaces the surgical and physio work. Soft tissue therapy sits alongside that care — supporting recovery between training sessions, addressing the compensations that creep in across a long programme, and keeping the body feeling like a body Nigel wants to keep using. For an athlete chasing numbers on the platform, those small weekly gains add up.

The May 2026 meet

Powerlifting is three lifts: squat, bench press, deadlift. Three attempts at each. Your best successful lift in each counts, and the three add up to your total. Nigel's first sanctioned meet in May 2026 produced:

• •Bench press — 140kg, an in-competition personal best
• •Deadlift — 235kg, an overall personal best and a State record in his age and weight class
• •Total — 550kg, a personal best and a State record in his age and weight class

That 550kg total qualified him for the National Powerlifting Championships in Fremantle in August 2026 — a fairly emphatic way to mark the road back from where he was less than two years ago.

On to Nationals

Nigel's pointing his preparation at Fremantle in August now. The block between a State qualifier and a National stage is where the next round of careful work happens — pushing the numbers a little further while keeping the body capable of repeating it on the day. Regular soft tissue work will keep ticking along as part of that build.

Nigel has been generous in giving credit for how quickly he's progressed and how well he's performing. From his side, the work Sarah has done — week in, week out, through the slow months and the building blocks — has been a meaningful part of the picture. From the clinic's side, the credit lives squarely with him: the medical team that did the careful surgical and rehab work, Beaudean and the 618 Barbell crew shaping the training, and Nigel himself for showing up to all of it.

If you're rebuilding from a serious injury

Every recovery story is different. Massage isn't a replacement for medical care, and the steps back into loaded training after spinal surgery need to come from your treating professionals. Once you're cleared for soft tissue work and active rehab, remedial massage and cupping may be a useful complement to the physio, strength work and patience that real recovery asks of you.

Sarah offers remedial, sports, deep tissue, trigger point, cupping, hot stone, pregnancy and relaxation massage in Port Pirie. If you're rebuilding towards something — a competition, a return to a sport you love, or just being able to lift your kids again without pain — get in touch and Sarah will shape the sessions around where your body actually is right now.

If you'd like to talk through what's going on with your body and book a session, get in touch with Sarah on 0439 594 999 or book online. Private health insurance rebates may be available depending on your provider and level of cover.