Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory arthritis that targets the joints of the spine, especially the sacroiliac joint that connects the spine to the pelvis, and is a chronic progressive spine disease associated with autoimmunity. Ankylosing spondylitis often involves the sacroiliac joint, causing spinal ankylosis and fibrosis, which can be complicated by various degrees of eye, lung, muscle and bone pathology in severe cases. Therefore, it is important for patients with ankylosing spondylitis to have a thorough understanding of the disease in order to detect the degree of progression and to adjust the treatment plan at any time.
Beware! Three major factors in the development of ankylosing spondylitis
1. Genetic causes
The risk of ankylosing spondylitis in the first generation of relatives is 20 to 40 times higher than in the general population, according to survey data. Also, the likelihood of the other twin being sick is over 50%. This indicates that genetic factors are a common cause of ankylosing spondylitis (note: genetic factors account for a large component of the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis).
2. Infectious factors
ankylosing spondylitis is often complicated by infectious diseases, so doctors believe that the onset of ankylosing spondylitis is related to infection.
3, immune deficiency
Ankylosing spondylitis patients may have a disease-causing antigen in their bodies, causing the body to constantly produce relative antibodies, resulting in the destruction of the body’s immune mechanism, thus triggering the onset of the condition, which is one of the main causes of ankylosing spondylitis.
The five typical symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis should be kept in mind
1. Morning stiffness
The main symptom is stiffness in the lumbosacral area when you get up in the morning, or when you stand up after a long period of lying and sitting. (Note: Morning stiffness is one of the early symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis)
2.Joint pain
Joint pain first appears in the sacroiliac joint and can occur first on one side, then on the opposite side, or bilaterally at the same time. There is pressure pain at the sacroiliac joint, and the sacroiliac joint test is positive.
3.Lumbar pain
The early symptoms are low back pain below the spine, stiffness of the lumbar region and difficulty in moving, gradually progressing to the thoracic spine, and when the rib joints are involved, there is poor breathing, band-like chest pain, and severe pain in the spine when coughing or sneezing. When it develops to the cervical spine, it is difficult to turn the head and the whole spine is completely stiff.
4. Peripheral joint lesions
The peripheral joint involvement in patients with ankylosing spondylitis is characterized by asymmetric distribution, a few joints or single joints and large joints of the lower extremities are mostly involved, the easily involved joints are the hip, knee, ankle and other joints, also involving the shoulder, wrist and other upper limb joints, fingers (toes) and other small joints are less involved.
5.Hip pain
Some patients have unilateral or bilateral hip pain, and after a long time, the hip joint movement is restricted and flexion is tense. The incidence of hip joint is about 38-55%.
Be alert! Four major hazards of ankylosing spondylitis should not be underestimated
The early symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis may not be serious, but once delayed for too long, the damage cannot be thought of. This is why patients must pay more attention to ankylosing spondylitis and understand its hazards before decisive measures are taken to treat it.
1, ankylosing spondylitis touches many joint parts of the body, mainly the lumbar, cervical and thoracic segments of the spinal joints and ligaments, as well as the inflammation and ossification of the sacroiliac joints. The disease has a lingering course, causing patients to endure the disease for a long time and suffer from chronic pain in various joints.
2, ankylosing spondylitis is associated with the patient’s immune system, accumulating to multiple organs of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, prostate and many other parts, while patients are often accompanied by urinary infections and other diseases, adding to the trouble of treating the disease, which is also a common hazard of ankylosing spondylitis.
3, the more significant harm of the disease is the joint deformity, early patients appear lower back pain and morning stiffness symptoms, sometimes accompanied by hypothermia, fatigue, loss of appetite and other systemic symptoms, while long-term development, pain will always exist, gradually forming a hunchback deformity.
4. Patients’ joint lesions manifest prominently, such as sacroiliac arthritis, cervical spine lesions, peripheral joint lesions, etc. Patients’ movements of both limbs and head will be restricted, resulting in usual walking, work and other daily life being deeply affected.