Gym enthusiasts who pride themselves on pushing their limits for the perfect lift should take a moment to listen to the cautionary note of a gym instructor who suffered strokes after tearing her neck artery during squats.

The 33-year-old fitness coach Bridgette Salatin from Ohio is still dealing with memory issues two years after the catastrophic stroke. Now easing back into her gym routine with lighter weights, she warns others: "Don't push yourself too hard."

Salatin remembers the moment it happened; she was midway through a 70kg barbell squat when she suddenly felt dizzy, followed by a "really bad" headache. She had not eaten or slept enough the night before and had pushed her limits, holding her breath before lifting the weight.

"When I woke up that day, I had a pain in my neck but I thought I'd probably just slept on it funny. I was squatting and I had a barbell on my back. I started to get a really bad headache," Salatin said.

The sharp pain shot from her shoulders to her right temple before she collapsed to the ground. Later, she learned the intense strain had torn an artery in her neck, triggering three mini-strokes.

Doctors also diagnosed Salatin with occipital neuralgia, a painful neurological condition caused by injury or inflammation of the occipital nerves, which run through the scalp. The condition can result from pinched nerves, muscle tightness in the neck, or a head or neck injury.

"They did a few scans on me and they said 'you've had a stroke' but how in the world does that happen at the age of 31? I felt an instant grief. I thought 'I've failed myself' and 'am I ever going to be right again?'. I felt like I lost a sense of myself," she recollected.

Although months of bed rest and blood thinners helped her recover, Salatin said her life has never been the same, even two years later.

"My short-term memory is gone and doing everyday things is hard for me. I used to teach a yoga class that was strictly on learning headstands but I can't do that anymore," she said.

She now urges others to start with lighter weights and find a balance between pushing limits and avoiding injury.

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