Celine Dion Health: Her History with Stiff Person Syndrome and More

Earlier this year, Celine Dion announced she was canceling the remaining dates of her Courage World Tour as she dealt with a serious health condition. 

The pop icon, 55, revealed in late 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological condition that can cause severe muscle stiffness and spasms.

Dion has been candid with fans about her physical health over the years, opening up about her fertility struggles and shooting down eating disorder rumors.

As Dion takes some time away from the limelight to focus on her physical well being, here is a look at some of the health issues she has spoken about publicly over the years.

Dion shared an update on her health in May 2023 as she announced the cancelation of her world tour, which had been scheduled to run until October. 

“I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%,” she said in a message to fans on her website. “Even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again. I want you all to know, I’m not giving up… and I can’t wait to see you again!” 

This year, Dion also starred as herself in “Love Again,” a rom-com also starring Priyanka Chopra and Sam Heughan. 

Dion contributed five new songs to the movie’s soundtrack, including the ballad “Love Again.”

It remains to be seen whether Dion will be able to perform again, but she and her team have shared their hopes that she may return to the stage.

When Dion announced the cancelation of her world tour in May, her team said in a statement they “have every hope that someday soon, Celine will be able to come to all of these cities in Europe to perform for her amazing fans."

Dion has also said she is “working hard” to build back her “strength and ability to perform again.” 

While every person’s situation is different, some people are able to manage the symptoms of stiff person syndrome, Dr. Desimir Mijatovic, a pain medicine specialist with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told TODAY.com in 2022. 

“A lot of people are able to make recovery to the point that their condition is stable. They’re not worsening anymore. They can continue to live fairly mobile (lives),” he said. 

Mijatovic is not involved in Dion’s care, but he said it is not outside the realm of possibility that Dion could perform once more.

“People like Celine are oftentimes able to overcome a lot of amazing things, and I definitely think it’s something that’s possible,” he said.

Dion revealed in December 2022 that she’d been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome and would be postponing tour dates due to the condition. In May 2023, she canceled her remaining tour and shared that she was still being treated for the disorder. Her health problems had previously forced her to announce tour date cancelations in January 2022 and April 2022.

Stiff person syndrome is a rare neurological disorder. Symptoms of the progressive condition may include stiff muscles in the torso, arms and legs, as well as muscle spasms that may be triggered by noises, touch or emotional distress, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The condition can have a severe effect on quality of life. People with stiff person syndrome may develop hunched postures and may struggle to walk or move. People may also fall more frequently because they lack the muscle reflexes to catch themselves, which can lead to injury.

Dion opened up about her stiff person syndrome diagnosis in a video posted on her Instagram page in December 2022. 

“We now know this is what’s been causing all of the spasms that I’ve been having,” she said. “Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.”

She added that she was working with a sports medicine therapist to rebuild her strength, but admitted it had been “a struggle.”

There is no cure for stiff person syndrome, although symptoms may be kept under control with certain drugs, as well as physical, occupational and aqua therapy, according to Yale Medicine.

In 2018, Dion had to cancel nearly a month of shows at her Las Vegas residency to undergo ear surgery.

The singer was dealing with a condition called Patulous Eustachian tube dysfunction, which occurs when the tube that connects the middle ear to the sinus cavity remains open, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The condition was causing Dion to have “hearing irregularities and making it “extremely difficult to sing,” her team explained in a Facebook statement at the time.

Dion’s team said the singer planned to undergo minimally invasive surgery to correct the problem.

“My luck hasn’t been very good lately... I’ve been so looking forward to doing my shows again and this happens…. I just can’t believe it!” Dion said in a message to fans on Facebook.

Dion underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) before she and her late husband, René Angélil, welcomed their first son, René-Charles, in 2001.

She also opened up about her fertility issues as she and Angélil tried for a second baby. 

“We didn’t want to feel like we were playing yo-yo. ‘I’m pregnant. I’m not pregnant. I’m pregnant. I’m not pregnant,’” Dion told Oprah Winfrey in 2010. “So, we didn’t want to do this thing. But we did (have) a miscarriage. We tried four times to have a child. We’re still trying. We’re on the fifth try. And I tell you, if five is my lucky number, this fifth try has got to come in.”

In the end, the singer underwent six rounds of IVF.

“These treatments were truly hard on my wife’s body,” Angélil told the French-language Le Journal de Montreal, as translated by People. “It wasn’t simple at all.”

Dion’s fertility treatments were eventually successful and in October 2010, she gave birth to twin boys, Nelson and Eddy.

Dion has long pushed back against speculation that she has an eating disorder.

“I don’t have an eating problem, and there’s nothing more I can say about it,” she told People in 1999.

“I’m very thin,” she added. “I don’t even train. I’m lucky.”

She also asked people to stop commenting on her weight in a 2019 People interview, addressing online speculation about her physique.

“If I like it, I don’t want to talk about it. Don’t bother. Don’t take a picture,” she said. “If you like it, I’ll be there. If you don’t, leave me alone.”

She addressed rumors about her appearance in another People interview earlier that year, saying she had lost some weight due to her intensive ballet practice routine.

“I do this four times a week,” Dion said. “People say, ‘She’s a lot thinner,’ but I’m working hard. I like to move, and (weight loss) comes with it.”