Ankylosing spondylitis commonly affects the sacroiliac joints. These joints connect the base of the spine (sacrum) to your pelvis. Other joints such as the hips and shoulders can also be affected, as can the eyes, skin, bowel and lungs. Ankylosing spondylitis affects men more often than women.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) inflames the sacroiliac joints located between the base of the spine and pelvis. This inflammation, called sacroiliitis, is one of the first signs of AS.
Early symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis might include back pain and stiffness in the lower back and hips, especially in the morning and after periods of inactivity. Neck pain and fatigue also are common. Over time, symptoms might worsen, improve or stop at irregular intervals.
The most common symptom of axSpA, which often affects the joints where the spine meets the pelvis, is pain in the lower back, buttocks and hips. It can also affect shoulders, knees, toes and fingers, as well as the eyes and gastrointestinal tract, and symptoms often begin in the teen and young adult years.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic form of arthritis. It mostly affects the bones and joints at the base of the spine where it connects with the pelvis. These joints can become swollen and inflamed. Over time, the affected spinal bones may join together.
Redness, pain, and irritation of the eyes can be symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis. Low back pain and stiffness are the hallmarks of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but they may not be the first or only symptoms of this inflammatory type of spinal arthritis.
The most common symptoms are intermittent flare-ups of spinal pain and stiffness. However, the disease can also affect other joints, as well as the eyes and the intestines. In advanced AS, abnormal bone growth or calcification of the ligaments of the vertebral bodies of the spine may cause the joints to fuse.
Ochronosis frequently involves the spine and can mimic ankylosing spondylitis radiographically and clinically but spares the sacroiliac joint.
Lack of Exercise Worsens Stiffness
“A sedentary lifestyle will worsen the stiffness and decreased mobility and flexibility that accompany ankylosing spondylitis,” says Waseem Mir, MD, the founder of New York Integrative Rheumatology and a rheumatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Ankylosing spondylitis causes inflammation of the spine, lower back (sacroiliac joint), and large joints resulting in stiffness and pain. It may also cause new bone formation across the involved joints in the spine and/or lower back.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the axial spine. Chronic back pain and progressive spinal stiffness are the most common features of this disease. Involvement of the spine, sacroiliac joints, peripheral joints, digits, and entheses are characteristic.
At this time, no single test diagnoses ankylosing spondylitis. Your doctor may order a blood test to check for the HLA-B27 gene, which is present in most people with the disease. You may have the HLA-B27 gene and never develop ankylosing spondylitis, but it can give doctors more information when making a diagnosis.
According to the Spondylitis Association of America, people typically develop AS between 17 and 45 years of age. Most people develop AS in their 20s and 30s. In a 2022 study, the average age of onset worldwide was 26.
The way ankylosing spondylitis (AS) progresses, or changes over time, can be different for different people. Some people never have symptoms beyond back pain and stiffness that come and go. Others may go on to have movement problems, a hunched posture, or eye, digestive, or nerve problems.
The effects of ankylosing spondylitis are cumulative as inflammation causes vertebral bone erosion, tissue scarring, and worsening symptoms. This process can eventually lead to new bone formation and spinal joint fusion.
Ankylosing spondylitis is an autoimmune disease and is a type of arthritis of the spine. It causes swelling between your vertebrae, which are the disks that make up your spine, and in the joints between your spine and pelvis. The disease is more common and more severe in men. It often runs in families.
Over time this can damage the spine and lead to the growth of new bone. In some cases this can cause parts of the spine to join up (fuse) and lose flexibility (ankylosis). It's not known exactly what causes AS, but in many cases there seems to be a link with a particular gene variant known as HLA-B27.
While it mainly affects the neck and back, it can also cause pain and stiffness elsewhere in the body, including in the hips, shoulders and feet. We don't yet know what causes ankylosing spondylitis.
Symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis
The symptoms of AS can vary, but usually involve: back pain and stiffness. pain and swelling in other parts of the body – caused by inflammation of the joints (arthritis) and inflammation where a tendon joins a bone (enthesitis)
Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of reactive arthritis following Klebsiella infection, usually occurring in an HLA-B27-positive individual.
"Fatigue from inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis can feel like you have the flu. You can ache all over," says Rochelle Rosian, MD, the director of regional rheumatology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “That's because inflammation affects your whole body, not just your joints.”
Don't do movements that cause pain
Any exercise that requires you to twist your spine too much or that stresses your back and spine could cause problems, Arthritis Research UK notes. Carefully consider high-impact exercises, such as running, or jarring and twisting sports, such as tennis, squash, and racquetball.