Gabby Windey Says a Vibration Plate Cracked a Vertebra

Gabby Windey says an intense session on a vibration plate left her with a cracked vertebra and a trip to the hospital. The former Bachelorette star shared the account herself in an October 2 Substack essay and in an Instagram post that included hospital images.

A routine workout took an unexpected turn

Windey wrote that she regularly used the motorized platform, which rapidly moves beneath a person’s feet. On the day of the injury, she said she increased the machine to level 30. She believes the speed and pressure caused part of a vertebra to crack, although her posts did not provide a detailed public medical report.

The 35-year-old described the episode with the dark humor familiar to her followers, naming her essay “Broke back, no mountain.” Beneath the jokes, however, she also wrote about persistent tingling and nerve discomfort after the incident. Her social post showed her in a hospital gown and included an image presented as an X-ray.

Windey is telling the story in her own voice

The account has spread through entertainment outlets, but the central facts come from Windey’s own posts rather than a statement from a physician or device manufacturer. That distinction matters: she is publicly describing what she experienced and what she believes caused it, not offering a general medical conclusion about every vibration plate.

Whole-body vibration machines are marketed for exercise and recovery, but settings and usage can vary by device. Windey did not identify a specific manufacturer in the reports reviewed, and no company response was included. Her story therefore should not be read as a finding about one named product.

Windey became widely known through The Bachelor franchise before co-leading The Bachelorette and later competing on reality shows including Dancing With the Stars and The Traitors. She is married to comedian Robby Hoffman.

For fans, the most important update is that Windey was able to recount the incident herself and has continued posting. She has not publicly announced a detailed recovery timetable, leaving her own future updates as the clearest source on how she is doing.