Precautions for patients with ankylosing spondylitis

  Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic, progressive, joint lesion involving the medial joints, mainly affecting the sacroiliac joints of the pelvis, spinal joints and paravertebral tissues, with spinal ankylosis later in the course of the disease, rendering the patient incapacitated. The onset of the disease is mainly in young men aged 20-30 years, and women are only one tenth of the men, and the disease is mild. For the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, active and reasonable physical exercise, in a sense, is even more important than medical treatment, the following is a list of considerations for patients in their daily lives.  It is very important to maintain the correct posture and mobility of the torso and to prevent the occurrence of hunchback in patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis. The onset and development of hunchback is slow and hard to detect, so it is extremely important to pay attention to daily posture of the torso to maintain good posture. Always think about keeping your torso straight, whether you are walking, sitting, standing, or lying down, remember to keep your torso straight. Sit straight back chair, do not sit on the sofa, do not sit too soft too low chair, especially should avoid sitting in a recliner. Should insist on sleeping on a hard bedpan, without pillows or with thin pillows to help ensure that the torso is straight, supine position is better than side lying. For early patients, twice a day prone, each time adhere to half an hour, to slow the trunk flexion is helpful, standing, usually can follow the wall with the feet, knees straight, shoulders, back against the wall, eyes flat, the patient’s head occipital often can not touch the wall, should try to lean back, adhere to 5 seconds, relax and then do a few times. Swimming is a whole body exercise, beneficial to the spine and limb joints, so it is a good exercise for patients who master swimming, but should avoid the water temperature is too low.