Mike Tyson has been suffering from Sciatica.
The 56-year-old boxing legend has opened up about his health woes after being pictured in a wheelchair holding a walking stick last month, and he has admitted he sometimes struggled to talk when his rare condition “flares up”.
He told Newsmax TV: “I have sciatica every now and then, it flares up. When it flares up, I can’t even talk! Thank God it’s the only health problem I have.
“I’m splendid now. Everybody in my house is truly blessed and we’re all very grateful for whatever we have.”
Sciatica impacts nerve endings in the body, and it seems the former world champion is dealing with complications related to his back.
It occurs with the sciatic nerve – which goes from your lower back to your feet – gets compressed or irritated, and while it usually improves in four to six weeks, the condition can last longer.
Tyson was forced to retire from boxing in 2005 due to back issues.
He recently suggested he thought he might not have long left to live.
Speaking on his own “Hotboxin’” podcast, he said: “We’re all gonna die one day of course. Then, when I look in the mirror, I see those little spots on my face.
“I say: ‘Wow. That means my expiration date is coming close, really soon.’”
Tyson says he stays in shape by taking magic mushrooms every day and smoking cannabis.
He said: “Cannabis is good to work out on for me. I just wish I was smoking back when I was fighting – I really lost out there from an athlete’s perspective.
“But if I’d smoked during my boxing career, I probably wouldn’t have been so aggressive.
“I also like taking mushrooms and smoking before fighting. I take psychedelics every day, mushrooms.”
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