There's Already Been An Injury After 2 Episodes Of 'Dancing With The Stars'

Dancing with the Stars has officially begun its 29th season on ABC. And before the season premiered, there were a lot of changes announced. While we’re still early into season 29, one thing we do know for sure is that there will probably be some injuries in the mix. After all, the competition on DWTS is ruthless.

Here's quick recap of what's going on this season: Back in July, Tyra Banks was announced as the new host of DWTS, replacing longtime host Tom Bergeron and co-host Erin Andrews. And judge Len Goodmanwas noticeably absent from the premiere because he can't leave the United Kingdom due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In his place is former DWTS pro Derek Hough.

And of course, we have a brand new cast, with some of the same pros. On the pro side this season is Val Chmerkovskiy, Cheryl Burke, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Gleb Savchenko, Jenna Johnson, Brandon Armstrong, Emma Slater, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Pasha Pashkov, Daniella Karagach, Sasha Ferber, and Britt Stewart.

And on the celebrity side, we have Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe, Monica Aldama (Cheer), Carole Baskin (Tiger King), Super Bowl Champion Vernon Davis, actress Anne Heche, actress Skai Jackson, actress Justina Machado (One Day at a Time), Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean, host of The Real Jeannie Mai, actor Jesse Metcalfe, rapper Nelly, Nev Schulman (Catfish), NBA superstar Charles Oakley, Chrishell Stause (Selling Sunset), and Olympic figure skater and on-air commentator Johnny Weir.

Dancing die-hards know that it's not all confetti cannons, glitzy costumes, and spray tans. Nope, in between the live shows a lot of blood, sweat, and tears goes into each performance. All those hours of dance floor training and performing can take its toll, resulting in injuries—some so serious, they take the celebs right out of the competition. Need proof? These 44 celebs have all gotten injured while competing for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy

Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has also already suffered an injury just two episodes in to the 29th season. At the start of the show, host Tyra Banks announced that Kaitlyn had yet to make a call if she would dance or not after she injured her ankle in practice.

"The rest of our cast is ready to light up the ballroom with the exception of one. Just before we went live, Kaitlyn Bristowe was dealing with an ankle injury. So we got to ask, will she pull though?" Tyra asked as video played of Kaitlyn being checked out by a doctor via ET. "We'll find out later. We'll find out live."

An hour into the show, Katilyn’s dancing partner Artem Chigvintsev revealed that she would be dancing. "Good news, she's feeling a lot better and she will be dancing tonight," he said.

And Kaitlyn herself spoke before she was set to do the Foxtrot to "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. "I tell myself all the time, 'I'm resilient, this is a dream, I'll dance through anything.' As long as I was cleared to do it, I was happy to do it," she told Tyra.

Katilyn and Artem crushed it, earning a score of 22/30.

Lauren shared during the season 28 Halloween episode that she had “four hurt ribs.” “All I have been trying to do is pretend my ribs aren’t broken this whole competition,” she told the judges, per People. “I fractured the one on the left the first week of the show and I haven’t had these X-rayed, but they don’t feel great.”

The supermodel fell and broke her arm during rehearsals the week before the premiere of DWTS season 28. The fall reportedly left her with multiple broken bones, a dislocated wrist, and required surgery to insert a metal plate in her arm. Unable to compete, Christie sat in the audience and her daughter Sailor Brinkley-Cook took her place on the dance floor.

The week after the premiere of season 28, the former NFL player felt serious pain in his foot. The tough dancing rehearsals had resurfaced an old foot injury. Ray had an MRI, and his doctor told him his three torn tendons would need surgery. “This is probably one of the hardest decisions of my life," Ray shared on air about bowing out of the competition. "But right now, I gotta make sure that I don’t damage something enough to where I can’t walk.”

“In a game in 2010, I tore a tendon in my foot. And now, all of this dancing, all of this on your toes, I’m reliving a problem that I thought I’d never have to live again,” he shared during the show. “I am having so much fun when it comes to the dancing part. But the part behind the scenes, it’s just been painful. It’s bothered me a lot.”

The Younger actress had to go to the hospital after her appearance on season nine's premiere. She later shared on Twitter that she tore a muscle from her neck to her chest, per Access Hollywood. She had to wear a neck brace and continued competing until she was eliminated in the third week.

The soap star injured her ankle during rehearsals before her season premiered. She was still able to dance and competed until she was eliminated in season nine.

While competing on season 14, the country singer had to deal with a lower back spasm, Daily Mail reported. “Thank you for all your concerned tweets… I’m with the Doctor, he says it was a reflectorical spasm in my lower back,” she tweeted. The injury didn't take her out of competition, but it did cause a few missteps in her routines on her way to the finals.

The French actor, who had an unforgettable cameo in the Sex and the City movie, had a rough start to his dancing in season 15. “I pulled my groin the first week,” he told E! News. “I got tendinitis here and there and I fractured my shoulder the first. I did it all and I’m going to do it again…I’ll do it to the death.”
Gilles got a second shot on the show, but hurt his MCL (a knee ligament) before the season started

The soap star had a severe muscle cramp and went to the hospital after performing the samba on the show. “It hurts,” he told People backstage. “It hurts the arm and it hurts that I couldn’t do it, you know, it’s tough.” The Chilean actor also detached one of his tendons from its bone. He was able to dance his way to third place and had surgery after the show to repair it.

The Access Hollywood host dropped out of the show after injuring her knee, Today reported. She shared a statement about her decision to leave:

"Beyond disappointment doesn’t even being to describe how I feel about not being able to continue on Dancing With the Stars. It has been one of my favorite shows since season one! But I have torn the meniscus in my knee in two places, which requires surgery. According to the doctor, one is a ‘significant’ tear and it will require my getting knee surgery within the next couple of weeks."

The former Olympic figure skater had to withdraw from competition due to nerve damage in her spine early on in season 16. “I realized this isn’t just a muscle thing,” she shared backstage per ABC. “It’s radiating down my leg and my foot and I have no stability in my ankle and I can’t pull my toes back.”

The former Little House on the Prairie actress headed to the hospital after a jolt to her head during her season 14 paso doble performance. She later tweeted that she had a “mild concussion and whiplash” from performing and hitting her head on the dance floor, Today reported. She returned the following week to perform, but was sent home.

The former House Majority Leader and Texas politician got a stress fracture while practicing for the show. He tweeted about his condition: “Old age is catching up to me. May have a stress fracture in my foot. No worries, it’ll take more than that to keep me off the dance floor." Tom continued dancing through the pain and made it to week three.

While rehearsing a group number for the show, the former Bachelorette injured her spine and was taken to the hospital. “Melissa was diagnosed with a disc herniation at the C4-C5 level of her cervical spine,” her rep told People. Her injury sounded severe, but she went on to win the all-star season 15.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star added an unrehearsed move to her cha-cha routine. She fainted during practice. “The doctor found that I had a viral infection with fever and swollen glands,” she told People. “And between trying to fight that and all of the stress on my body from running around, I ended up with low blood pressure and a rapid heart rate, which is why I fainted.” The illness didn't stop her from dancing until she was eliminated during the fourth week.

The singer had a minor setback right before the season nine premiere. She accidentally cut her hand on broken glass and had to go to the hospital to get stitches the night before the premiere episode, Ok Magazine reported. Mya put the minor injury behind her and finished in second place.

The singer had to withdraw from DWTS season 8 before it started. Jewel fractured her tibia in both legs while rehearsing. “When the doctors told me my injuries were so severe that I couldn’t walk, let alone compete, I was devastated that I couldn’t continue the show,” she told CMT. “I have every intention of being at Dancing With the Stars this season supporting my husband, Ty [Murray], and his partner, Chelsie [Hightower]. I hope to be back on the show in the future.”

Holly stepped in to fill Jewel's spot on season eight. However, the former Girls Next Door star also got injured during rehearsal and had pain in her ribs. “I had some inflamed intercostal muscles in my chest,” she explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “That happened during the samba last week.” Holly danced with the pain for a few weeks until she was voted off in a double elimination night.

The Jackass star has been through more than his fair share of ER visits in his career. He fell during his salsa rehearsal, landed on his mic pack, and was sent to the hospital in an ambulance. “He was so bummed out going into the ambulance today. …Nothing’s broken, but there are plenty of other things that could be wrong,” his pro partner, Lacey Schwimmer told MTV.

Steve-O returned to dance again in season eight, but was sent home after five weeks on the show.

The Science Guy tripped during a season 17 performance and had to get an MRI at the hospital. Doctors discovered a partially torn ligament, per his Instagram post. “We’ll do R.I.C.E. – we’ll do rest, ice, compression, elevation [and] see where we get," he told People. Bill didn't follow his doctors orders to rest and opted to continue dancing. His low-impact routine received low scores, which led him to be sent home anyway.

During a camera blocking rehearsal in season 25, the Property Brothers star injured his hamstring, which almost kept him from dancing. “I can’t do a full lunge, but luckily tonight I didn’t have to do that," he told People. "The quickstep was staying tall and staying on my toes. But for the rumba tomorrow, I’m going to be working on my hamstring all tonight and tomorrow. I don’t want it to slow me down.”

Drew was able to perform his quickstep and the rumba, and continued with the competition the following week. He dropped more than 30 pounds along the way, too.

Percy Romeo Miller Jr., was on Dancing with the Stars season two. However, the rapper never competed because he suffered a basketball injury during early rehearsals, Orlando Sentinel reported. His father, Master P, danced in his place when the season began.

Both the actress and her dance partner suffered injuries during their run on season 23. Jana started it off by pulling a muscle in her rib cage before the premiere, E! News reported. Her pro partner, Gleb Savchenko, had to sit out a few rehearsals due to a knee injury. He recovered with a knee brace and remained hopeful in social media posts.

The Baywatch star competed on seasons 10 and 12 of DWTS, before hopping the pond to appear in the DWTS France ballroom. While practicing, she encountered a petite problem.

Pamela shared on Instagram: “I hurt my right calf muscle in rehearsal last night. We weren’t doing anything crazy just dancing. It felt like someone threw a baseball very hard at my lower leg- I screamed and turned around and no one was there. then realized it was my calf muscle that may have exploded?”

The Fuller House star was rushed to the hospital during season 22 rehearsals. "Earlier today, Jodie Sweetin injured her left foot during rehearsals for Dancing with Stars," her rep shared in a statement with E! News. "She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital and she is awaiting her official diagnosis. She is in good spirits while she waits."

Jodie ended up bruising a bone on the outside of her foot, but her ankle was stable enough to keep on dancing, she told E! News. She kept it wrapped and iced it as often as she could. Jodie scored perfect 10s on her last dance before she and her pro Keo Motsepe were eliminated.

The model ended up in the hospital on the way to his Mirrorball Trophy win in season 22. Nyle had an accident during rehearsal that required stitches, E! News reported. "Actually, it's kind of funny because it was one of our best rehearsals to date and it was a great day," Nyle told the publication. "And we wanted to do one last run—don't ever say that, don't ever say the last run because then I got elbowed in the eyebrow! Four stitches later, it healed beautifully though!"

The Full House and Fuller House star had an ankle injury that almost derailed her journey to the finale on season 18. Cameron shared a photo of her ankle wrapped in ice on Instagram. She got X-rays and was able to continue dancing. Her pro partner, Mark Ballas also hurt his shoulder close to the end of competition, per People. “Mark was seriously injured during camera blocking. His shoulder popped out during a lift and he was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he was treated and released. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to perform on Monday’s show.”

The Today meteorologist suffered a pelvis injury and back spasms right before the season finale of DWTS season 22, People reported.

“Right now she can’t dance at 100 percent and [troupe member] Jenna Johnson is standing in for her during camera blocking today,” a source told the publication. “She won’t know until tomorrow if she can do the dances. Ginger is seeing the show’s physical therapist and is resting so that hopefully she will be able to dance tomorrow night.” Ginger was still able to perform with her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy.

The pro snowboarder was rushed to the hospital during a live show. Amy displaced her rib during her season 18 rumba with her pro partner Derek Hough. She shared health updates with her fans on Twitter: "So, Looks like I have a rib out of place and my muscles are in spasm. I am being very proactive in healing up so I can continue this journey."

The Wonder Years star broke a rib while rehearsing with her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy. Danica posted updates on Twitter: "So...I broke a rib in yesterday's #DWTS rehearsal. Trying my best to pull thru and could use your prayers!! #wanttokeepdancing." Danica did pull through and danced despite the injury through season 18. "It's sore, but as long as nobody bumps into it, I'm OK! I just had to keep going," she told E! News. "The show must go on!"

The legendary Star Wars actor had to bow out of the ballroom when chronic back pain flared up in season 18. "It's chronic, it's arthritic. I made a tough choice, but it was a choice I think I needed to make," he told E! News.

Partnered with Derek Hough for season 14, Maria proved her claim to a "high tolerance for pain." The Extra host continued dancing through a ripped intercostal muscle, broken ribs, and a stress fracture in her foot, per People. "Dance broken" became her motto and she said it gave her an edge on her competitors.

During season 12, the original Karate Kid star encountered an injury early on. He ruptured a cyst on the back of his knee and still danced through the pain, per Daily Mail. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba shared, "I really admire you for getting out there."

The Olympic skater broke two toes doing the jive in season 10, NBC Washington reported. That wasn't the end of his injuries, he also suffered a mild concussion while training. Evan continued dancing and touring with the Stars on Ice show through the pain.

The Dirty Dancing actress barely missed a step en route to the Mirrorball Trophy. However, Jennifer ruptured a disc in her lower back the night before the season 11 finale, per CBS. Nobody puts baby in the corner, and that didn't hold her back from hoisting the trophy with pro partner Derek Hough. She later underwent surgery to remove the fragment following the competition.

The former supermodel went surfing with her son prior to the season nine premiere, per NBC. The outing almost took her out of the competition before it began. The surf board hit her leg and split it open. The injury required stitches but it didn't keep her away from the ballroom.

The Olympic gold medalist and beach volleyball champ suffered a torn Achilles tendon while practicing the jive during season seven. She could no longer dance and was forced to withdraw from the competition, per People. She had surgery to repair her Achilles and appeared on the show in a leg cast and with crutches.

The entire right side of Victoria's body went into spasm while rehearsing with her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy in season 25, People reported. This wasn't the worst Victoria had ever faced: An autoimmune disease and neurological condition left her in a vegetative state in childhood.

Luckily, Victoria bounced back from her DWTS injury. “I definitely didn’t feel as strong as I felt in dress before the spasm,” Victoria told co-host Tom Bergeron on camera. “But kind of overcoming that … getting out of that scared mindset really helped me kind of go out there. It wasn’t as good as it could have been, but given the circumstances, I’m very happy with it.”

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star suffered a mini-stroke and was unable to continue competing on season 21, per People. She had been traveling each week between her home in Atlanta and Los Angeles for filming. Kim believed her hectic schedule caused the blood clot. “I had my stroke at 37!! It can happen to anyone at any age!!” she shared on Instagram “When in doubt please always check it out!!”

The violinist suffered a rib injury during season 25 rehearsals and went to the hospital. She danced through the pain, earning solid scores on a tough paso doblé the next day, per People.

“She’s doing better,” her pro partner Mark Ballas told reporters. “She wanted to be here tonight [to talk to press], but I told her she needed to go rest and put ice on her ribs … Her health comes first.” After resting up, Lindsey and Mark went on to place second.

The Little Women: LA star danced through an injury on season 23. Terra had existing hernias and competed wearing a back brace to protect against further damage, per People. “I’m still pushing myself to the very limit,” she wrote in her blog for the publication. “I know I’ll pay for it later, but it’s worth it.”

The R&B singer was hospitalized during season 21 for what she thought was pneumonia. Then, after doctors discovered blood clots in her lungs, she had to withdraw from competition, People reported.

She shared the news on her Instagram account: “With a heavy heart I regret to inform you that my season of #dwts has to come to an end along with the rest of my tour dates with @musicbykem.”

Former NFL player DeMarcus Ware is familiar with hard hits, but without his pads the ballroom almost took him out. After one rehearsal, his right index finger bent in ways nature never intended.

The former Superbowl champ shared a graphic video on Twitter of his finger injury but didn't let that halt his dancing career.

During the New York City episode of season 27, the former Facts of Life star performed with a fractured foot, per USA Today. She injured her foot right before the show. Nancy experienced pain in her foot and had an MRI done to confirm the fracture on camera.