Steven Tyler Checks into Rehab for Painkiller Addiction

by Amy Judd | December 22, 2009 at 08:09 pm

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Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith, has checked himself in to rehab today to get help with a painkiller addiction and pain management after 10 years of performance injuries.

He issued the following statement to PEOPLE Magazine:

"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.

Steven went on to say that he is committed to getting help and is thankful for the love and support of his friends and family.

His daughter Liv Tyler also spoke out:

"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."

Steven Tyler has been suffering with chronic pain for over 10 years and he has endured orthopedic injuries that will require surgeries on both his knees and feet. Steven has been trying to manage his pain with therapy and special shoes, but it has only gotten worse and a sports doctor said that like many athletes, Steven has put his performance first, so there is a tendency to increasingly rely on medication to manage pain. The line between addiction and management can be very thin.

"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."