I was only 15 when I started my modeling career. I was a teenager who already felt like a woman: I traveled by plane around the world following the rhythm of the fashion shows, nothing could stop me. And in fact she didn’t even do it backache, even if those like me who suffer from it or have suffered from it know well how disabling it can be. I place the first lumbar pains, the first pangs when lifting suitcases, between one move and another, precisely in those years. Maybe it was my nomadism, or perhaps the lack of physical activity (intended as sport, because to walk, I walked!), the fact is that once that phase of my life ended, the back pain also went away with it.
After a long period of study, in 2008 I started to be an actress: my first important role, unforgettable for me, was that of Mannina in Baaría, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. On set I was fine, there was no shadow of pain, and it was like that for all the following years. Then came the year of my wedding, 2016 in Ortigia (the actress is married to fellow actor Giuseppe Zeno, ed.) and subsequently the girls, Angelica and Beatrice: within four years I had two pregnancies and my life has transformed into that of a mother with a little girl always in her arms. Luckily I was fine during that period, and even during breastfeeding I managed everything without pain.
Margaret Madè: «I had a lumbar hernia and the painkillers were no longer enough»
In reality it was the calm before the storm: a couple of years ago the back pain suddenly returnedwith a non-constant trend, more than anything else linked to specific movements, for example when I bent down to lift some object from the ground. At the beginning I took some painkillers, but since the pain persisted in an annoying way and limited me in my daily actions, I quickly turned to an orthopedist who, having verified my symptoms, prescribed an MRI. He expected it a lumbar hernia and so it was: a nice gift for my 40th birthday.
The doctor explained to me that it had not been expelled for a long time and then, over time, it leaked out, giving rise to the symptoms I was experiencing in that period. In any case, I was lucky, because it was a small hernia, not serious, so it was absolutely not necessary to intervene surgically. Indeed: it was enough to be aware of it and start targeted postural gymnastics.
With gymnastics the actress learned to change her posture
So the orthopedist prescribed me a series of exercises for the acute phase, which I carried out followed by a physiotherapist. The objective was above all to strengthen the abdominal muscles which supports the lumbar region and perform regular stretching workouts to loosen the muscles and maintain the elasticity, mobility and flexibility of the spine for longer. Thanks to gymnastics I learned to change my posture, not only the one I assumed when sitting, but also the one I used to pick up things from the ground, more or less heavy, my girls first and foremost!
Once the cycle with the physiotherapist was finished, my back pain was practically a distant memory, but to avoid the risk of falling back into physical inactivity, I signed up for pilatesrecommended by the orthopedist to continue working on the muscles and lengthening the spine, while for some time I started training in the gym again three-four times a week with a personal trainer which makes me follow a personalized workout with a mix of postural exercises, pilates and cardio activities.
Following this routine I no longer had any pain: the only time it happens to me is when I sleep with my daughters, but it is an isolated case due to my nighttime posture: mothers always sleep in uncomfortable positions!
Margaret Madè: «Nature also helped me»
Thanks to the targeted training program I can say that today I feel in great shape. I’m also happy to be back on set and to dedicate myself as I once did to my work as an actress, given that in recent years, with newborn and then very young girls, I had neglected it a bit.
I also feel great enthusiasm for a project that I am cultivating, literally, in Sicily, my homeland. There I have a farm with olive groves where I follow the production of extra virgin olive oil. As soon as we can, my husband, my daughters and I leave Rome and escape there. Contact with nature, as well as touching the olive groves, taking care of the harvest, milling and bottling gives a boost to my well-being: it gives me great energy and at the same time relaxes me.