Wednesday, 23 December 2009

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Steven Tyler enters rehab for painkiller addiction

Steven Tyler has sustained many injuries over the years

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler has entered a rehab facility for pain management and an addiction to prescription painkillers resulting from 10 years of performance injuries, PEOPLE has learned.



'With the help of my family and team of medical professionals, I am taking responsibility for the management of my pain and am eager to be back on the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford,' Tyler says in a statement released to PEOPLE. 



'I love Aerosmith; I love performing as the lead singer in Aerosmith,' he adds. 'I am grateful for all of the support and love I am receiving and am committed to getting things taken care of.'



His daughter, Liv Tyler says, 'My family and I are in complete support of my dad's decision to seek treatment. He is a courageous man. We love him and are so proud that he is getting help to balance his pain management, not just for himself but for his family, friends and fans.'

A Decade of Injuries

Tyler, 61, has suffered orthopedic injuries over the past decade that have left him with 'severe chronic pain' and will require additional surgeries on his knees and feet, says his physician, Dr. Brian McKeon, Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at Tufts School of Medicine.



'Managing and controlling his pain has been challenging, and despite our use of alternative therapies and the creation of custom shoes built by a team of engineers from Timberland, Steven's pain has progressed,' says McKeon, who also is team doctor for the Boston Celtics.

'The balance between managing his pain and avoiding addiction is tenuous and difficult and his bravery in persevering through rigorous touring is admirable. As with many athletes, Steven put his performance first as he struggled with acute pain for years.'



Tyler's bandmates candidly expressed concern for his well-being - and the future of Aerosmith - after he fell off a stage during a concert in August, breaking his shoulder. 

'I think that he needs help and that attention needs to be put to his health,' drummer Kramer told PEOPLE, adding the singer, who had battled drug addiction in the '70s and 80s, had 'isolated himself.'