February 15, 2013
Revealed: Lupus may be contributing to Lady Gaga’s chronic pain
She is known for her energetic performances, so her decision to cancel the remaining dates on the American leg of her global stadium tour, left Lady Gaga’s Little Monster’s reeling.
The star revealed that she has been suffering from chronic joint pain that she has been concealing from her staff and fans.
“I’ve been hiding a show injury and chronic pain for sometime now, over the past month it has worsened,” Gaga announced in a series of tweets sent out Tuesday. “I’ve been praying it would heal. I hid it from my staff, I didn’t want to disappoint my amazing fans. However after last night’s performance I could not walk and still can’t.”
But just how dire is the star’s condition, and what role does Lupus, which she disclosed she was suffering from in 2012, play in her health issues?
“What we know about Lupus is it does have strong autoimmune characteristics,” pain specialist Dr. Akash Bajaj tells Celebzter. “This being said, Lupus independently can cause severe inflammation and pain. This can contribute to an acute synovitis, causing the pain to increase quite significantly.”
He continues: “Lady Gaga appears to be struggling with chronic pain, and synovitis. Synovitis is an inflammatory state of the joints. Depending on which joint(s) are affected, this can result in limited mobility, limited weight bearing activity, as well as fatigue and pain. It appears she has been dealing with this for quite some time, and given her active show performances, it is not that unusual.
“The best way to help mitigate pain and limitations associated with synovitis is rest and ice ( a great natural anti-inflammatory). Sometimes, if rest and ice don’t do the trick, then an anti-inflammatory injection in the joint may help.”
About Dr. Akash Bajaj;
Pain Specialist Dr. Akash Bajaj is a double board certified anesthesiologist and President of Remedy Pain Solutions, Inc in Los Angeles. He completed his undergraduate studies at UCSD, graduating summa cum laude and is a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa & Golden Key Honor societies. He then went on to simultaneously earn his M.D. and a Master’s degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) from the New York Medical College. He then served a residency in Anesthesiology at UCLA Medical Center. Choosing then to sub-specialize in pain medicine, he completed an Interventional Pain Medicine Fellowship at the prestigious University of California San Francisco, selected as one of only five fellows, graduating in 2006. His lectures have been heard nationally on CBS Radio, as well as UCLA, and UCSF. Dr. Bajaj uses interventional therapies, medication therapies and Prolotherapy along with PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma that are contain bioactive proteins) to combat pain.
