Andie MacDowell is opening up about her health.
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on Thursday, Jan. 23, the Four Weddings and a Funeral star, 66, revealed she’d been diagnosed with piriformis syndrome.
“I have piriformis syndrome, so it’s a muscle that kind of clamps down on my sciatic nerve, and it was shooting down my leg,” MacDowell told Barrymore, 49.
“I thought I was going to have to have hip replacement, thank God, my hips are fine,” the actress added.
Insisting she’s working toward improving her health, MacDowell shared, “I have to work my tiny little bottom and my hips. I have to work the bottom and work my hip. I just do it every day,” adding that it “doesn’t hurt anymore,” calling it “a miracle.”
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), piriformis syndrome “is a rare neuromuscular condition that occurs when the piriformis muscle in the buttocks presses on the sciatic nerve.”
“The condition is primarily associated with sciatica; however, other symptoms may include tenderness, aching, tingling and/or numbness of the buttock and pain when sitting for a long period of time, climbing stairs, walking or running,” a description reads. “Piriformis syndrome is caused by damage, irritation or overuse of the piriformis muscle which can make the muscle swell or tighten.”
Through the years, MacDowell has become an advocate for aging in Hollywood by leaning into her years of wisdom and embracing her silver hair, which she stopped coloring during COVID.
“I think as you age, lift weights, work with a [personal trainer] PT person to build your muscles,” MacDowell continuing while discussing aging with Barrymore, whom she starred in the 1994 movie Bad Girls with.
MacDowell explained that she’d been riding her indoor bike “like a crazy person,” per E! News, adding, “It’s not appropriate for my body, and I ended up with bad knees and a bad hip … I thought I was literally falling apart.”
Elsewhere during her Drew Barrymore Show interview, MacDowell also spoke about loving the simple life in South Carolina now that her kids have left home.
The actress shares daughters Margaret Qualley, 30, and Rainey Qualley, 35 — both of whom have followed in her acting footsteps — and son Justin Qualley, 39, with her ex-husband, Paul Qualley, 66.
“I’m happier now than I have been in a long time,” MacDowell shared on the show.
“I moved to South Carolina, and I really, I’m taking good care of myself. It took me forever,” she went on. “Once my kids left, I felt this huge void in my life, because they were so important to me.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
MacDowell credited her daughter Margaret for giving her the boost she needed to take the next step in her life.
“Margaret really was kinda telling me I was supposed to be having the time of my life, but I wasn’t,” The Way Home star said. “But now I am. I’m having the time of my life now. It’s really good.”
Read the full article here
