Kim Wilde reveals ‘terrifying’ secret health struggle – saying it was ‘unbearable pain’ and she thought career was OVER

KIM Wilde has revealed her ‘terrifying’ secret health struggle, saying she suffered ‘awful, unbearable pain’ and thought her career was OVER.

80s pop legend Kim, 64, has continued to tour and perform into her senior age.

However, a shock injury 18 months ago left her in unbearable pain and uncertain about her future.

Speaking on Kaye Adams' podcast, she said last month: “It was terrifying. It was completely debilitating, terribly painful - nerve pain going right down my legs.

"Just unbearable pain that I never seemed to be able to get out of. It was awful.

“I did feel very vulnerable. I just thought the life as I loved it was disappearing. The things that I loved to do most - walking my doggies - can’t do that.

"Going out on tour and running across the stage - can’t do that.”

Slipped discs occur when a soft cushion of tissue bulges out between the bones in the spine, often pressing on nerves and causing intense pain.

While sometimes triggered by an injury, they can also occur without an obvious cause.

Reflecting on the impact of the condition, Kim admitted: “Pretty much everything I loved to do, just in one day disappeared, and I didn’t know if I would recover.

“It was very scary, and I promised myself if I got myself better, I’d go hell for leather for everything. I’d be walking, I’d be swimming, I’d be getting a personal trainer. I’ve done all those things, and I feel fantastic.

“I’m probably fitter now at 64 than 54. Only four months after my back went and I thought my world had ended, I found myself on a pair of water skis. It’s given me this fantastic momentum, and during that time I’ve made the new album.”

Back in December, Kim told how she was lured back into performing - by singing Abba songs at a village fete.

The talented hitmaker put her stellar career on the backburner in the late 1990s to pursue gardening.