Celine Dion’s rare diagnosis amid world tour:

In 2022, she postponed her European tour, citing persistent muscle spasms. She later admitted she was “doing a bit better,” but her recovery was “going very slow.”

That same year in December, she went public with her official diagnosis in a heartbreaking Instagram video. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you,” she said at the time. “I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person… Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people.”

Her diagnosis explained years of physical struggles and marked a turning point in her career. The Courage World Tour was officially canceled in May 2023, which she described as a “tremendous disappointment.”

What is Stiff Person Syndrome?

Stiff Person Syndrome is a rare and disabling autoimmune neurological condition that causes muscle stiffness, painful spasms, and hypersensitivity to stimuli such as sound and touch. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, SPS affects only about one in a million people and is often misdiagnosed due to its overlap with other conditions.

“It frequently is associated with muscle spasms, which could be quite severe. These can cause falls, severe pain and significant disability,” said Dr. Emile Sami Moukheiber from Johns Hopkins Medicine to CNN. “These spasms can be precipitated by startle, severe emotions, [or] cold weather.”