The Tragic Truth About Elton John

Like many senior citizens, Elton John has suffered from pain and mobility issues in his joints. By 2016, he had already had surgery on both of his knees due to pain that he attributed to “too much tennis, and too much jumping on and off pianos” in one Rolling Stone interview.

His knees continued to be an issue in subsequent years, but John also found himself with major hip problems after a 2021 fall on a hard surface. The injury forced John to postpone his “Farewell to Yellow Brick Road” tour until 2023, as treatment was not alleviating the excruciating pain. “I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications,” he said in a statement (via Billboard).

Even after the surgery, John was in much pain as he navigated physiotherapy to regain his mobility. “I can’t move sideways, can’t get in and out of a car,” he explained on the talk show, “Lorraine,” a couple of months after the procedure. The singer was spotted in a wheelchair the following year, although he has been known to use one even for minor injuries such as a sprained ankle. In 2023, just after the end of his farewell tour, John was hospitalized after another nasty fall at his home in France. He underwent a knee replacement the next January, and then a second one on the other knee a few months later.

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