If you often have back pain in the morning and at night, be careful of ankylosing spondylitis!

What is ankylosing spondylitis?

What are the main symptoms?

How to prevent and treat it?

It is called "immortal cancer", what exactly is ankylosing spondylitis?

Ankylosing spondylitis is an immune-related disease with chronic inflammation of the spine and sacroiliac joints, most commonly in young men aged 20 to 40. Although the name contains "spine", it is not a strict orthopedic disease, but the result of a disorder in the human immune system, belonging to the category of rheumatology and immunology diseases.

Ankylosing spondylitis, although not a real cancer, is also known as "immortal cancer" because it cannot be cured. Our well-known stars Jay Chou and others suffer from this disease. Once they are sick, they will accompany them for life.

This inflammation will invade the body's large hip joints and nearby ligaments. In the early stage, it is just persistent pain and morning stiffness in the waist and back. In severe cases, it may gradually cause joint deformity, loss of function, and even disability, paralysis in bed.

The disease has a certain degree of familial inheritance, and its onset is significantly related to the HLA-B27 gene. Therefore, once the child is found to have signs of inheritance, he should go to the rheumatology and immunology department for a complete examination in time.

Ankylosing spondylitis mainly damages the sacroiliac joints and spine, which in turn causes stiffness and pain in other parts of the body. If not treated in time, it will also lead to joint fusion and spinal rigidity, affecting the eyes, heart, lungs, stomach and other body organs.

If these symptoms appear, be alert to "ankylosing" knocking on the door

The pain of ankylosing spondylitis often occurs in the waist and buttocks, so it is easy to be regarded as ordinary "lumbar muscle strain, lumbar disc herniation" and delay the condition, so early detection and early treatment are the key.

If there are multiple conditions below, then this low back pain is not simple, and you need to find a rheumatologist to further clarify whether there is a possibility of ankylosing spondylitis:

There is a family history. There are patients with ankylosing spondylitis with a clear diagnosis in the family, or patients with undiagnosed long-term low back pain and limited spinal mobility.

• Young men. Young men are prone to ankylosing spondylitis.
• Symptoms last for a long time and tend to gradually worsen. Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic disease. Usually, the early back pain is mild, but as the course of the disease prolongs, the degree and duration of the back pain may gradually prolong, and even symptoms such as limited bending and other spinal movement disorders may occur.
• Pain is mainly in the morning and at night. Ankylosing spondylitis patients usually have morning and night pain, accompanied by morning fatigue, and the back pain is relieved after appropriate activities.

Combined with peripheral arthritis such as hip, ankle, and knee.

Combined with tendinitis. It may manifest as tenderness at the junction of the sternocostal or sternocostal joints, heel and sole pain, and sausage-like changes in fingers and toes.

The use of analgesics (referring to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs) has a good effect. Ankylosing spondylitis patients, especially in the early stages of the disease, usually have a good effect on anti-inflammatory analgesics such as Intaqing, Fenbid, and Celebrex, but they are prone to relapse after stopping the medication.

Lumbar disc herniation, lumbar muscle strain, sports injuries, etc. are difficult to fully explain the condition, and the treatment effect is not good.

Patients with eye inflammation such as uveitis.

Patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Patients with psoriasis.

A special reminder, even if these conditions are combined, it does not mean that you must have ankylosing spondylitis. Only by consulting a specialist can you further clarify the diagnosis or rule it out!

Take care of your spine health, pay attention to these points!

A healthy spine is the cornerstone of a healthy life. We need to rely on good habits in daily life, avoid sitting for a long time, etc., to maintain the health of the spine.

Preventing and delaying spinal degeneration from a young age is the most effective "treatment" for the spine.

4 movements are recommended to protect the spine.

01. Shrug

Shrug your left and right shoulders alternately at a speed of 3 seconds each time, and then shrug your shoulders back and forth in circles. Do each movement 8 to 10 times/time, and do it 2 to 4 times a day.

02. Arm-level waist rotation

Keep your spine straight, cross your hands and bend your elbows to raise them horizontally in front of your chest, at the same height as your shoulders, then turn your head and arms parallel to the left and right, preferably 90 degrees, with the same frequency as shrugging your shoulders.

03. Raise your arms

Stand upright, raise your hands and straighten them, pause for 3 seconds and then slowly lower them, relax and then raise your arms again, with the same frequency as above.

04. Hold your knees and hold your chest

Take a seat, spread your feet shoulder-width apart, lift your knees as much as possible to bring the soles of your feet close to the chair, hold your knees with your hands, bend your upper body until your chest and legs are touching each other, exhale deeply, and inhale to recover. The same frequency as above.

Modern people often sit all day long. No matter how correct the sitting posture is, it will still cause harm to the body if it is maintained for too long.

Occasionally getting up and moving can not only change your posture, but also avoid spinal problems.