Canadian popstar Celine Dion announced on Instagram this week the postponement of her upcoming tour due to a diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disease that affects about one in a million people.
“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” Dion says in her video. “I always give one hundred percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to do that right now.”
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what has been causing all the spasms I’ve been having,” Dion said in an emotional video that she recorded both in English and French. She has more than 5 million Instagram followers.
So what exactly is stiff person syndrome?
It s an autoimmune and neurological disorder that causes rigidity and spasms in the torso and limbs, debilitating pain and chronic anxiety, per the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation. The spasms can occur randomly or in response to environmental stimuli like loud noises or emotional distress, and they can last anywhere from seconds to hours, PavanTankha, the medical director of comprehensive pain recovery at Cleveland Clinic, tells the New York Times’ Nicole Stock. They can even be so violent as to dislocate joints or break bones.
