Adele reveals she collapsed backstage during Las Vegas residency
Pop superstar Adele has revealed that she collapsed backstage during a concert in Las Vegas due to a sciatica attack.
According to The Sun, the Easy on Me singer told fans about the incident at the concert held at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace which was part of her Weekends with Adele concert residency that runs until November.
“They picked my whole body up off the floor,” Adele explained to the crowd as she took a seat. “I am going to sit down and rest my sciatica.”
The 35-year-old singer has already spoken up about her chronic back pain and sciatica while performing on New Year's Eve last year. Adele showed difficulty walking across the stage after throwing shooting merchandise out of a T-shirt cannon into the crowd.
"I have a wobble these days because I have really bad sciatica," she said at that time.
Healthline describes sciatica as a condition that is caused by an irritation in the sciatic nerve—the body's longest nerve which runs from the spinal cord and branches down to the legs.
It is one of the most important nerves in the body and directly affects one's ability to control the legs and feet. It can be damaged in several ways, which include sitting or lying down for long periods, acquiring an infection or injury in the spine, and the loosening of ligaments during pregnancy.
The most common cause, however, is slipped disc which one can get from simple tasks such as heavy lifting without proper technique.
In September 2022, Adele told Elle that she suffered a slipped disc after a jump-scare prank by her son, Angelo, as she came out of the bathroom.
However, during an interview with The Face magazine in November 2021, the Grammy-winning artist told the media outlet that her back issues go back to her teenage years.
"I slipped my first disc when I was 15 from sneezing. 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," she explained.
"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," she added.
She added, however, that strengthening her core muscles helped resolve this: "But where I got my tummy strong, down at the bottom, which I never had before, my back don’t play up as much."
People suffering from sciatica would usually feel a tingling sensation, burning or sharp pain, numbness, or weakness in their bottoms, legs, feet, and toes. This is in addition to moderate or sharp pain in the back.
Meanwhile, Medical News Today said most cases of sciatica would last four to six weeks and usually self-resolve with the practice of proper posture and exercise, such as walking, yoga, pilates, and light stretching. If the pain lasts for more than six weeks, it would be best to consult a doctor.