After country star Alan Jackson revealed he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a surgeon at Shriner's Hospital for Children says the disease is typically diagnosed in children

After country star Alan Jackson revealed he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a surgeon at Shriner's Hospital for Children says the disease is typically diagnosed in children

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After country star Alan Jackson revealed he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a surgeon at Shriner's Hospital for Children says the disease is typically diagnosed in children

A country music star shared big news with his fans, announcing the diagnosis of a disease he's been living with for years.

Alan Jackson announced he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

The country singer isn't the only person out there living with the degenerative nerve condition. A surgeon at Shriner's Hospitals for Children in Greenville says 126,000 Americans have the disease.

“It affects the peripheral nerves, which are the nerves that come from our spinal cord, that go out to our muscles for sensation and motor control," pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Gettys said. "Typically, it affects the longer nerves first, so we usually find out about it with people having issues with their hands or feet.”

Gettys says CMT is one of the most common motor and sensory diseases.

“Typically, the way they present is with some claws toes, high-arched feet," Gettys said. "We also tend to worry about their hips and scoliosis.”

Gettys says the disease is not fully treatable, but there are a number of ways to manage it depending on the severity of the case.

“We do a lot of different supportive things – surgery, bracing, to try to keep kids upright, doing all the things they can do,” he said.

Despite Alan Jackson announcing his diagnosis as an adult, Gettys says CMT is typically diagnosed in children, often around ages 8, 9 or 10.

“It can be as subtle as there are kids playing with other kids and you don’t even know, but they may have a special ankle brace to help support their ankle to play," Gettys said. "Whereas some, it’s really, really debilitating and a lot of times, it forces them to not be in regular school. They have to do homeschool.”

Gettys says the disease is hereditary, so they will look for signs of the disease in family members of someone who has CMT. He says they've usually detected it by the teenage years.

“Usually, the complaints we see are foot issues," he said. "Either toes are rubbing in shoes because toes are clawed, or they’re having more foot pain because they have a high-arched foot.”

Gettys says the disease doesn't typically impact vital organs, so it doesn't impact life expectancy. He says each patient is different and the severity of cases can differ.

“It can be very progressive for some people and get really involved, whereas others, it may progress real, real slowly,” Gettys said.

While CMT can have physical impacts, like on balance and walking ability for Alan Jackson, doctors say the disease is manageable.

Shriner's says it treats over 85 different neuromuscular and orthopedic conditions, including CMT.

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