Bruce Springsteen’s health battles – peptic ulcers, depression and vocal surgery

Bruce Springsteen is a well-known Rock and Roll legend and is celebrating his 74th birthday today, we are sure that he will be celebrating in style.

He is known for his emotional lyrics and energetic concerts, with performances that can last for more than four hours but the star has also struggled with health problems his entire life. Bruce has been open in the past about his struggles with depression, which he began to address in his 30s after years of denial.

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This year the rock and roll star was forced to postpone all of his concerts due to his peptic ulcer disease, a condition that he has been suffering with. Here at Daily Star, we have decided to take a look at some of Bruce’s most difficult health battles and how he overcame them.

Mental Health

Even though he lived the rock and roll lifestyle Bruce avoided hard drugs his entire life. His bandmate Steven Van Zandt said in 2012: “(Springsteen is) the only guy I know—I think the only guy I know at all—who never did drugs.”

However, Bruce did suffer quite severely from depression. He spoke about how his father, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, had a massive influence on his mental health. He described his depression in his book Born To Run and he said: “It’s a powerful thing, a presence that emerges from inexplicable places.”

In a vivid passage, he said: “My depression is spewing like an oil spill all over the beautiful turquoise-green gulf of my carefully planned and controlled existence. Its black sludge is threatening to smother every last living part of me.”

In the past, Bruce has explained that he still suffers from depression to this day. He is still on medication but has learned, thanks to therapy, valuable tools to cope with and deal with the more painful thoughts and feelings.

Peptic Ulcer Disease

Bruce was devastated when he was forced to postpone his 2023 concerts due to his Peptic Ulcer Disease. Peptic Ulcer disease is a condition where open sores develop in the stomach or small intestine that can be painful and debilitating.

In a statement on his website he wrote: “Over here on E Street, we’re heartbroken to have to postpone these shows. First, apologies to our fabulous Philly fans whom we missed a few weeks ago. We’ll be back to pick these shows up and then some.

“Thank you for your understanding and support. We’ve been having a blast at our U.S. shows and we’re looking forward to more great times. We’ll be back soon. Love and God bless all, Bruce”

Surgery on vocal chords

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When the iconic rock and roll star was on his Working on a Dream tour in 2009, he noticed that his left hand was getting weak and harder to control. This was obviously a nightmare for Bruce as he loves to play the guitar and it is a big part of his performance.

It turned out he had cervical disc problems on the left side of his neck that were numbing the nerves on the left side of his body. The Dancing in the Dark star had to get surgery which dangerously tied off his vocal cords and exposed his throat.

Speaking about the surgery he said: “It’s been very successful for me. [I have a] finite amount of time in which I’m going to continue to do what I’m doing.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk