Karen Carney revealed she has suffered from a spinal condition since childhood, and has shared how it affects her ability to perform on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor.
During Saturday’s instalment of the hit BBC show, the former footballer, 38, and her professional dance partner Carlos Gu, 32, were seen rehearsing for their second live performance – a Tango set to Dua Lipa’s hit Training Season.
However, during a break from training, Karen opened up about her health struggles, admitting she suffers from a curved spine that makes it difficult to achieve the correct posture for ballroom routines.
She told the cameras: ‘I have this thing called Scheuermann’s, I’ve had it since I was a kid.
‘It’s a curve in my spine, it’s really, really hard for me to open my back up to certain elements that I just won’t be able to do as well as I’d love to, but Carlos is really supportive, really encouraging.’
Despite the challenge, Karen powered through and took to the dancefloor for their Tango routine.
Karen Carney revealed she has suffered from a spinal condition since childhood, and has shared how it affects her ability to perform on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor
During Saturday’s instalment of the hit BBC show, the former footballer, 38, and her professional dance partner Carlos Gu, 32, were seen rehearsing for their second live performance – a Tango set to Dua Lipa’s hit Training Season
However, the performance saw them slip down the leaderboard with a total score of 20 points, a full 11 points lower than their ‘sensational’ week one jive.
Following their performance, judge Motsi Mabuse praised Karen for speaking openly about her condition: ‘Thank you for sharing with us about your curved spine.
She continued: ‘It’s going to be something that we have to challenge here to see how far we can really stretch and open up because it’s a ballroom dance, and there’s a specific posture that we need.
‘That being said, last week you were top of the leaderboard and there was a bit of an ease in the way you attacked, this week I could feel the nerves.’
Scheuermann’s disease, also known as Scheuermann’s kyphosis, is a growth disorder that causes abnormally shaped, wedge-like vertebrae in the thoracic spine, often leading to a hunched posture in adolescence.
Symptoms can include back pain, stiffness, and fatigue, and in more severe cases, the condition can even affect breathing.
Karen’s revelation about her health condition comes days after her dance experience was revealed, after she stunned viewers with her incredible first performance.
The new Strictly favourite took to the ballroom last Saturday with her partner Carlos, where they danced a jive.
She told the cameras: ‘I have this thing called Scheuermann’s, I’ve had it since I was a kid’
She continued: ‘It’s a curve in my spine, it’s really, really hard for me to open my back up to certain elements that I just won’t be able to do as well as I’d love to, but Carlos is really supportive, really encouraging’
However, the performance saw them slip down the leaderboard with a total score of 20 points, a full 11 points lower than their ‘sensational’ week one jive (pictured)
Her jaw-dropping efforts saw her jump straight to the top of the leaderboard, leaving the judges impressed and viewers at home shocked.
However, in an old interview, she told how she had originally trained in dance as a child before getting into football seriously.
She said: ‘I enjoyed football when I was a kid and had loads of kickabouts, but I didn’t join my first club until I was 11.
‘Until then, it was all about dancing for me.
‘We did loads of different routines and genres of music; street dancing, hip-hop, disco, rock ‘n’ roll, slow dancing, team dances.’
The Sun reported Karen also saying: ‘When I got a bit older and my football matches switched to a Sunday, I had some choices to make.
‘I decided to give up dancing when I was 15.’
Following their performance, judge Motsi Mabuse praised Karen for speaking openly about her condition: ‘Thank you for sharing with us about your curved spine’
She continued: ‘It’s going to be something that we have to challenge here to see how far we can really stretch and open up because it’s a ballroom dance, and there’s a specific posture that we need’
She continued: ‘My agility, my strength, my power and how I move my feet during a match are all definitely down to dancing, 100 per cent.
‘I was quite little, but I was quite strong, and that was because all the dancing made my muscles stronger.’
Following her performance last Saturday, the bookies’ odds on Karen lifting the glitterball trophy were slashed.
Her odds at bookmaker Ladbrokes dropped from 16/1 to just 5/1 at the time.
