'Embarassing': Actress Kimberly Chia hospitalised after injuring back while brushing her teeth

Home-grown actress Kimberly Chia has revealed the "embarrassing" reason for her recent hospitalisation.

She also clarified that her condition was probably caused by a muscle pull or strain and not a slipped disc.

"I was already having back pains. An achy back pain that was bearable which I ignored," the 29-year-old wrote on Instagram on July 18, posting a video of herself on a stretcher and being sent to hospital.

"Then came Thursday morning, when I was preparing for work and brushing my teeth. I had a gag reflex while brushing my tongue and bent forwards in a jerk."

Chia, who is married to 37-year-old businessman Vincent Yeo and has a three-year-old son, said that was when she felt something "snap".

"It was a sharp pain that made me see stars. Blacked out but still conscious," she wrote. "I shouted for my husband and he brought me to lie down. I was crying and I couldn't move. Tried to get up, but it hurt so badly. So, we decided to call the ambulance."

The NoonTalk Media artiste said she was admitted to hospital and got an X-ray.

"All was normal, but it still hurts. I was given some pretty heavy painkillers, but my pain score didn't drop," Chia wrote. "Couldn't move, couldn't sit up. So, I had to stay one night for observation. It's still painful now, but I feel better and can move about, albeit slowly."

"Reluctant to share the real reason because so embarrassing?! Haha," she added.

Chia, who rose to fame after starring in the crime drama On The Fringe (2011), made a cameo in horror-comedy film The Chosen One (2024).

She told Lianhe Zaobao in an interview that was published online on July 21 after she was discharged from the hospital that she is feeling better.

Chia said she will undergo physical therapy and arrange for an orthopaedic examination. The actress, who exercises regularly, said she did not have any previous back injuries.

"I can walk now, but I can't bend over or make big movements, and I have to turn around slowly," she told the Chinese-language newspaper. "I can't drive either, because stepping on the accelerator and brake will affect my back. Everything else is okay."