Brie Bella is finally moving forward with her recovery after breaking her scapula at SummerSlam. Physical therapy has officially started, but simply getting her injured arm out of the sling is already proving difficult.
Speaking during the August 20 edition of The Nikki & Brie Show, Brie Bella revealed that she has begun rehab as her broken scapula continues healing without surgery.
Brie: “But I did start physical therapy.”
Nikki: “Okay. How was that?”
Brie: “You know, it was okay. It’s tough.”
Nikki: “It’s tough. You got a long road ahead of you.”
Brie: “Yeah. Just like one, getting the arm out of the sling and just trying to move it around.”
Nikki: “Yeah.”
Brie: “I was like, holy—oh, sucks.”
One concern already being addressed is allowing the shoulder to become too stiff while it heals. The possibility of developing a frozen shoulder immediately came up, meaning Brie can’t simply leave her arm completely immobilized throughout the recovery.
Brie: “When they brought up, like, you don’t want stiff arm, all of a sudden I was like—”
Nikki: “Frozen shoulder.”
Brie: “Yeah.”
Nikki: “Gotta keep moving.”
Brie: “Yeah.”
For now, Brie says she is sticking with the exercises she’s been given: “But so—and I’m doing all my exercises, so that’s good.” Physical therapy is only the beginning. Brie is also heading back for another X-ray, which doctors were trying to arrange for this week. After that, she expects to undergo X-rays every two weeks so they can keep tracking the fracture.
“I get my first X-ray. They’re trying to get it this week, if not next week, and I’ll be getting it every two weeks.”
The bigger test comes in approximately five weeks. Brie is scheduled for another CT scan, and that’s when she expects to find out whether the broken bones are actually fusing together properly.
“And then in five weeks, going for my CT scan, and then we’ll see, like, if the bones are fusing. So fingers crossed.”
Brie admitted she doesn’t know what the next step will be if doctors discover the bones aren’t healing the way they want.
Nikki: “Yeah. Jeez Louise. Fingers crossed.”
Brie: “If not, I don’t know what they’ll do.”
Nikki: “I know. So every week will be something for you.”
That uncertainty is also why Nikki has been pushing her sister to take the early stages of recovery seriously. Because Brie avoided surgery and is allowing the fracture to heal naturally, Nikki believes these first few weeks are especially important.
“I think these first few weeks are so crucial when you are fighting an injury, whether it’s out of surgery or broken bones, of staying in bed, elevating, icy still. I mean, I’m still sleeping upright still. The only time to move is with your PT or when your PT tells you to do movement. Other than that, you can’t put yourself in situations to slip, to be in a car accident, to just do certain things that can make it worse.”
Nikki specifically pointed to Brie’s decision not to undergo surgery while warning her against trying to do too much too soon.
“Especially your situation because you didn’t have surgery. ‘Cause if you have surgery, it’ll make your injury even worse. So you’re trying to prevent that. So more than ever you have to just sit still.”
Sitting still has been one of Brie’s biggest problems. Nikki compared it to her own previous injury recoveries, where she made resting and following every instruction part of the job.
Nikki: “The reason why all of my injuries I’ve come back faster and stronger is because those first few weeks I truly—”
Brie: “Yeah, you’re good at, like—”
Nikki: “I’m good at, like, rotting in bed.”
Brie: “See, you look at—you took it as rotting.”
Nikki: “I used a Gen Z term.”
Brie: “You took it as rotting.”
Nikki: “Well, that’s what I call it.”
Brie: “Healing.”
Nikki said that meant doing exactly what her body required, whether it was staying in bed, performing prescribed movements or keeping up with her nutrition and hydration.
“I was doing exactly what my body needed me to do so my blood can flow and heal the fastest. Whenever there was movement that was needed because it would be the best for my body, I did it. When I needed to have a certain amount of water, when I needed to down bone broth in my system, up my vitamins, prenatals, whatever it may be, I did it.”
Brie insists she’s following those parts of the recovery plan. What she still needs to get better at is doing less.
“No, I’m definitely—I’m doing all that. I’m doing all that. I just gotta, I guess, lay down more.”
Brie initially feared she would need emergency surgery after X-rays at U.S. Bank Stadium revealed multiple breaks in her scapula following SummerSlam. A subsequent CT scan brought better news, with doctors determining that the injury could be allowed to heal naturally and giving her an estimated recovery period of three to six months.
Now the rehab has started, and the next major question is whether that natural healing process is actually working. Brie will undergo regular X-rays before another CT scan in roughly five weeks shows whether the bones are fusing as hoped.
How long do you think it will be before Brie Bella is healthy enough to return to WWE? Let us know in the comments below.
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