Thompson Square Ready to Return to the Road Following Shawna Thompson's Recovery from Back Injury

Ford Fairchild Keifer and Shawna Thompson

Shawna Thompson tried to hide her back pain for years.

She tried to hide it from her fans, from her family and most of all, from her husband and Thompson Square bandmate Keifer Thompson. But this past August, after a somewhat grueling show in Alabama, the country music vocalist simply couldn't do it anymore.

"[Her back pain] had been getting progressively worse after every show," explains Keifer, 49, in a recent interview with PEOPLE. "Shawna would be in pain before we would go on stage, but then the adrenaline would kick in. She would jump or something on stage, and it would just make me cringe because I knew she would pay for it later."

Indeed, back pain has been something Shawna has lived with off and on throughout a good portion of her life, going all the way back to 1999 when she injured her back in a rollerblading accident.

"It was the most embarrassing thing I think I've probably ever been through because we were newly married when it happened," Shawna, 44, remembers. "I couldn't even get out of bed. I could not do anything for myself. And all of a sudden, Keifer was having to take care of me."

Ford Fairchild Keifer and Shawna Thompson

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Then in 2016, around the same time the Grammy-nominated duo were still basking in the success of No. 1 hits such "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" and "If I Didn't Have You," Shawna's back pain returned. She was diagnosed at the time with degenerative disc disease and a herniated disc which required surgery to fix.

"I went to see a surgeon and they did a discectomy on me, and I thought everything was great," says Shawna. "I didn't have any pain for five years."

That is, until Mother's Day of this year, when Shawna seemed to reaggravate her back issues again while on a fishing trip with her husband and their 6-year-old son Cooper. And while Shawna says she hoped some good 'ole rest would allow her back the necessary time to heal, she started realizing that this was far more serious than she might have ever thought.

"I remember I sneezed really hard back, in May," remembers. "And with a herniated disc, sometimes that's all it takes sometimes. I sneezed and literally just about fell to my knees. It felt like somebody had shot me with a shotgun or something."

In August, the couple found themselves consulting several doctors in the hopes of determining if Shawna needed surgery yet again. At the same time, the country music duo was forced to cancel a slew of tour dates, just as they were celebrating the successful release of their current single "Country in My Soul," which served as their first single release since 2019's "You Shoulda Been There."

"I had a hard time with [the show cancellations]," an emotional Shawna admits. "We had tons of radio shows that we were supposed to do, and I could probably do them if I didn't have to travel. That was the problem."

"You know, we had two years of not playing due to Covid-19," adds Keifer.  "Then, we started getting back on the horse — having a new deal and a new single — and then we had to quit working again. But we firmly believe everything happens for a reason."

Indeed, it did.

"We consulted with three different surgeons," explains Keifer. "The last one, who is a neurologist at Vanderbilt [University Medical Center], suggested that we try a series of physical therapy appointments to fix the issue. He was certain that if Shawna had another surgery, she would ultimately have to have three or four more surgeries — one of which could be spinal fusion."

"They were saying that they didn't think I needed to get cut on again," adds Shawna, referring to the back surgery she underwent back in 2017. "They thought four to six weeks of physical therapy would fix the issue."

After much thought, the couple went with the more conservative approach, which included physical therapy 2-3 days a week, along with chiropractic care in the hopes of avoiding surgery altogether. And thus far, it has worked. Keifer says Shawna is "showing improvement every week," allowing her to do normal tasks once again like getting dressed on her own and putting her own shoes on — tasks that she once took for granted.

"At this point, it's all about strengthening my core," says Shawna. "That's the biggest thing when you have any issues with your lower back."

Ford Fairchild

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Luckily, Keifer and their son Cooper are doing their best to help Shauna as she recuperates. "Keifer has been a champ," says Shawna with a laugh. "I can't say enough about his nursing ability. And Cooper comes in every morning before he goes to school. He'll lay in bed and chill with me. Just hearing him say, 'Mom, I wish your back was better. I put you on the prayer list at school.' All those little things mean so much."

And now, Thompson Square is prepping for their return to the road.

"We'll fire back up in October, and we feel like the rest of 2023 will be business as usual," says Keifer of the new tour schedule which will kick off October 20 in Indianapolis. "Obviously, Shawna is going to be very careful going forward, but the future is bright."