Soon after the Olympic games ended, it was discovered that Carly had a couple of bulging disks in her lower back. The problem has apparently been festering for years, but had somehow gone without notice. Carly announced after the injury was made public that she would be taking some time off from gymnastics to nurse the injury. Even at full health, Carly would not have been able to train as intensely after the Olympics as she did before because of her new tight schedule.

Carly Patterson has done the talk show circuit and has made numerous guest appearances since the Athens Games. Although some hoped that she would return to full training to defend her all-around gold, Patterson decided in 2006 she would not plan to participate in the 2008 Olympic Games and would retire from Gymnastics. Her coach said in a TV interview[citation needed], "It's hard to top an All-Around Gold."

She has stayed occupied with event appearances, gymnastics-related and otherwise. She has also land