lance bass, former member of ‘n sync and lgbtq activist, is opening up about having a rare disease: psoriatic arthritis. when he started experiencing knee and shoulder pain years ago, he assumed it was just a result of his dance background.
“i had symptoms before, but i kind of just dealt with it, not knowing exactly what it was. i was a dancer my whole life, so i just kind of figured it was because of dancing,” bass, 43,
told people magazine.
“it definitely started in my shoulders and then in my knees. to me, that was just… a sign of dancer pain, so i just thought it was completely normal.” he also noticed patches of
psoriasis — itchy, red, scaly skin — on his scalp, but didn’t think too much of it.
eventually, though, the pain was too extreme to ignore: his shoulders and knees felt “like glass,”
he told e! news. he stopped working out completely.
“i lost a lot of weight, a lot of my muscle and i just did not feel right,” he told the outlet.
he finally went to a doctor about five years ago, and he received the diagnosis. when he first found out it was arthritis, he was shocked: “i was only in my thirties,” he said. “like, ‘what is this?””
but eventually, the diagnosis “changed my life in the best way possible,” he said. “i knew how to go about my workout routines and i shouldn’t be afraid to work out my shoulders, knees and all that. and so i started eating healthier, i started exercising better. it really changed my life in a very healthy way.”
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