Injured ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Finalist Reveals Extreme Medical Care
The ‘Parent Trap’ actress explained exactly how she got back to the ballroom so quickly.
Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
Elaine Hendrix is sharing details of the shocking injury she sustained while competing on Dancing with the Stars.
The Parent Trap actress, 55, revealed the extreme recovery process that helped her return to the 2025 competition after a rib injury sidelined her from the Halloween episode of Season 34.
Actress Elaine Hendrix competed on Season 34 of "Dancing With the Stars."
Frank Micelotta/Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Images
Hendrix was hospitalized on Oct. 28, 2025, after intense pain caused her to seize up during rehearsal with her professional partner Alan Bersten.
“The doctors determined that I tore a muscle, potentially even ripped it off the rib, but nothing was broken, and no organs were affected,” the star said in a Nov. 2 Instagram video.
The Dynasty actress said in a separate Oct. 27 video that she was “so excited” to perform that night, having prepared a dance that both nodded to The Parent Trap and was set to the tune of her dad’s favorite song, Bad to the Bone.
“Alan and I still talk about that; that might have been my best dance of the season when it was all put together,” she said.
Elaine Hendrix starred as Meredith Blake in the 1998 film "The Parent Trap."
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Hendrix also addressed questions about how she returned to the stage so quickly and continued competing throughout the season.
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The actress attributed her rapid “recovery” to receiving 16 anesthetic shots and “about as many” Toredal shots. As a result, she was back in the ballroom one week later for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night on Nov. 4.
The anesthetic shots helped numb the nerves all around her rib, while the Toredal shots relieved pain in her muscles.
Elaine Hendrix was hospitalized after she injured her rib during an intense "Dancing With the Stars" rehearsal.
Instagram/Elaine4animals
“I saw my doctor regularly, and I also got massages, acupuncture,” she explained. “I did cryo, physical therapy, and every single night before bed I did a hot bath and then a cold bath.”
Hendrix also said she made sure to eat really well and rest as much as she could, adding that “the recovery became just as much of the job as dancing was.”
Alan Bersten and Elaine Hendrix dance onstage during "Dancing With the Stars" LIVE on April 15, 2026, in Seattle, Washington.
Mat Hayward/Mat Hayward/Getty Images
She and Bersten finished the season in fifth place.
Hendrix thanked her fans for their support in the Nov. 2 caption, writing, “Your kind words, love, and encouragement were some of the greatest healers of all and really kept the magic alive.”
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