Lance Bass is ready to say "Bye, Bye, Bye" to the stigma surrounding psoriatic arthritis.
The 'N Sync alum shared that he was diagnosed with the condition five years ago, telling E! News that he was "scared and surprised because I was only in my thirties. Like, 'What is this?''"
Initially believing the symptoms he had been experiencing—including joint stiffness and muscle fatigue—were just "dancer injuries," the 43-year-old said he was "relieved" when he talked to his doctor about what was actually going on.
Now, Bass is finally sharing his private struggle, teaming up with Amgen for a Double Take campaign which helps others to spot the symptoms of PsA, a condition that affects nearly one million Americans and is a type of arthritis linked with psoriasis, a chronic skin and nail disease.
Before receiving his diagnosis, Bass said he would get "immobile a lot" and could not perform several exercises because his shoulders and knees "just felt like glass." Believing he was just injured, Bass completely stopped working out.
"I lost a lot of weight, a lot of my muscle and I just did not feel right," he said. "Once I found out that it was PsA, it changed my life in the best way possible because then 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."
To spread awareness, the singer is returning to his boy band roots, choreographing a TikTok friendly dance routine that is a twist on the kids song "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes."
"We did this dance where it gives your head, shoulders, knees, and nails, which is primarily where you really feel the psoriatic arthritis," Bass explained. "Because I had no idea that your symptoms will be there for psoriatic arthritis, so if a kid or someone you know is feeling this, maybe they'll recognize like, 'Oh wait, I'm feeling those symptoms too.' And just by doing a stupid little dance on TikTok might help your life in a major way."
The inflammatory disease also changed his life in a meaningful way, as his condition impacted how he would ultimately parent his twins Violet Betty and Alexander James, whom he and husband Michael Turchin welcomed in October 2021.
"I'm so glad that I figured this out before I had kids because I would have had kids five years ago, I wouldn't have been able to hold them as well, feed them. My shoulders would not allow me to do that," Bass shared, before joking that it "would have been a nice excuse to just keep doing all the feedings to my husband. Like, 'Oh, I can't hold them. Sorry!' But now that it's years later and I really got this under control, it's so nice that I can hold my kids the way I want."
He continued, "I'm getting older and lots of problems can happen, but, right now, I feel great. And these kids, as tired as they make me, it gives me so much life."
One of his 7-month old twins has already started sitting up on their own, with Bass saying, "It's insane how many milestones they hit. It's like every week there's something new, like, 'Oh my gosh!' But it's been such a fun adventure."
And it's one Bass can fully enjoy, one dance at a time.