Adele Tells Fans She Suffers From Sciatica

The award-winning singer first talked about her chronic back problems in a 2021 interview with The Face.

“I slipped my first disk when I was 15 from sneezing,” she said. “I was in bed and I sneezed and my fifth one flew out. In January, I slipped my sixth one, my L6. And then where I had a C‑section, my core was useless. … I’ve been in pain with my back for, like, half of my life, really. It flares up, normally due to stress or from a stupid bit of posture.”

Someone shared a video on TikTok of the “Hello” singer asking her concert crowd if anyone else had the condition. She received loud screams in response, CBS News reported.

“What if it’s becoming more common because we all are sitting down on our asses all day,” Adele told the crowd.

Lumbar radiculopathy, better known as sciatica, causes leg, hip, butt and back pain that ranges from mild to severe. Some feel weakness or tingling in their legs and feet.

It stems from the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body, extending from the back of the pelvis to the back of the leg just below the knee. The sciatic nerve also branches into several other leg and toe nerves.

About 40% of Americans have sciatica symptoms at some point, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Yet that doesn’t mean they have true sciatica, which is rare. That’s defined as a nerve that is irritated, inflamed or pinched, CBS News reported.

A herniated or bulging spinal disk can cause it by pressing on the nerve. Obesity, poor posture and nerve disorders can also cause sciatica. The condition can be diagnosed through an X-ray or MRI plus an exam, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Typically someone feels the pain only in one leg at a time. It’s most common in people aged 30 to 50, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

People enduring the condition may take anti-inflammatory medications or require herniated disk surgery. Most heal on their own, CBS News reported.