Grammy Award-winning Recording Artist Dan Reynolds

Uses His Voice to Help Others Like Him Who Struggle With a Chronic and Potentially Debilitating Disease

Dan Reynolds, lead singer of the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning band, Imagine Dragons, has earned legions of fans worldwide with sold-out tours and a string of chart-topping songs including “Radioactive” and “Thunder.”

While the band dominates the charts, Dan has been living with ankylosing spondylitis (AS)—a painful disease that most people probably aren’t familiar with—for more than a decade. Dan was diagnosed with AS in his early 20s, and three of his brothers also have AS.

Dan continues his efforts to make a difference in the lives of others by supporting several causes, including his work as an advocate for the AS community. Recently, Reynolds has been working with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation to launch Monster Pain in the AS, a national campaign to raise awareness of unexplained back pain that may be AS.

For Dan, unexplained back pain is personal. After years of living with intense and unexplained back pain, Dan finally found the right doctor, a rheumatologist, who helped him find answers and a treatment plan that worked for him. He says this was “the greatest feeling in the world.”

This is why Dan is speaking publicly about his AS, in hopes of encouraging others living with persistent, unexplained back pain to seek diagnosis and care. Some 2.7 million people in the United States are thought to have AS and related conditions.1 But because it’s underdiagnosed, the numbers may be even higher.

Reynolds talks about his journey, the challenges living with unexplained back pain that may be AS, and how to find help. Reynolds will be joined by rheumatologist [Dr. Hillary Norton, who also has AS,] to share the signs and symptoms, her unique perspective on the disease, and the importance of getting a correct diagnosis.

Interview is courtesy: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
1 Spondylitis Association of America website. Overview of Ankylosing Spondylitis. Available at https://www.spondylitis.org/Ankylosing-Spondylitis. Accessed September 27, 2019.