Strongman Brian Shaw Opens Up About Battle With Leg Cellulitis: “This Has Been Extremely Challenging For Me”

As Brian Shaw’s long and strenuous training for his final World’s Strongest Man competition nears its end, he has taken to YouTube to share the details of his “Road to WSM”. Just a few days ago, Brian Shaw revealed that he faced a severe leg infection in January, which chained him to a hospital bed for several days. Yet in his latest video, Brian unveiled additional footage of himself in the hospital and the aftermath of his first workout upon returning to the gym. Additionally, he talked about the difficulties he has experienced as a result of this unexpected setback.

Brian Shaw did not think much of his infection and thought that he would only go to the hospital for a few hours and come back out. However, that extended to a grueling eight days in the hospital. Even during brief instances where Brian attempted to take a stroll, he had to endure intense discomfort.

“I really thought this would be a one day process… It has proved to be anything but that. So, what I am dealing with is a very bad case of cellulitis… It is extremely aggressive.”

Brian Shaw also revealed that his exact infection was a severe case of cellulitis. For those who are not familiar with this case, cellulitis is an infection which appears suddenly and quickly spreads through the body. It is also located in the deeper layers of the skin and tissue. So, swift prevention is absolutely necessary.

“We’ve tried a series of different antibiotics that I have had to use through an IV.”

The task of attaching multiple IV lines to Brian Shaw proved to be challenging due to his notably dense skin and muscle tissue. In addition, it was another painstaking procedure that Brian had to go through countless times. His forearms also became sore and solid from all the injections, even to the point where doctors were not able to poke them anymore.

“They poked me a few times to try to get more, but they just said that my veins are hard to poke with IVs and also my veins reject them.”

Brian Shaw admits that this has been a very difficult process for him, despite his positive attitude towards everything. In just a matter of days, he went from lifting enormous weights to barely being able to stand up. That shows how much the infection has affected him physically, but it was also mentally draining.

“This has been extremely challenging for me… taking my leg from an elevated position, going down to the ground, standing up, and going to the bathroom is right now unbelievably challenging and painful… Anything is maybe going to seem easy compared to that.”

In as little as two hours after his hospital departure, Brian Shaw was back at his gym, getting ready to train. Despite his eagerness for a fresh start, he remained uncomfortable and weak in every aspect of his preparation.

“I feel like complete garbage if I am being completely honest. I wasn’t able to eat like I normally would… No training, and I am a guy who has trained religiously since highschool… More of a break than I can remember in my entire lifting career.”

Despite his desire to immediately jump back to lifting heavy weights, Brian Shaw had to refrain from potentially making his condition worse. Clearly, after being ill for over a week, Brian found himself in a challenging situation.

“It is crazy how easy the training was two weeks ago… But, I know how quickly I can bounce back… This now is a win, even though it is such a miniscule session overall for me.”

Watch Brian Shaw’s video here:

Related: Brian Shaw Announces The 2023 Shaw Classic Lineup & Reveals It Will Be His Final Competition

Brian Shaw’s goal was to continue building momentum and get back into peak physical and mental shape before the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition. So, judging by his recent training session, it seems that he was successful.

If Brian wins his fifth WSM title this year, he will tie Mariusz Pudzianovski’s record and be recognized for one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Just four more days remain until the competition starts and we see Brian perform.

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