Ankylosing spondylitis is a disease most people hear about: the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis are severe, difficult to treat, and can gradually lead to joint deformity, loss of function, and even disability, and is known as the “cancer that never dies”. However, more and more celebrities with ankylosing spondylitis have recently become active on the screen, and their work and lives are almost as normal as if they had not been affected.
Why do they look so healthy when they have ankylosing spondylitis? This may seem different from the conventional wisdom, but reading this article may help you understand why they can be “winners in life” even under the weight of the disease.
Ankylosing spondylitis = “undead cancer”?
When it comes to ankylosing spondylitis, many people are afraid to talk about it. The reason for this is that its cause and symptoms are different from those of other diseases. It is understood that this disease belongs to the category of autoimmune diseases, the course of the disease is long, the cause is still unclear. The spine is the main lesion site, first involving the sacroiliac joint, and then gradually progressing upward, causing aseptic inflammation of the bone and peri-articular tissues, including the sacroiliac joint, and finally developing into total spinal fibrosis and bony ankylosis, and also causing different degrees of eye, lung, muscle and bone lesions. It has been named as “undead cancer” because of its late onset and difficult treatment. So, is it really so terrible?
1.”Ambush” and “latent”
As a “sedentary person”, he often feels discomfort in his back recently, and going to massage does not help. In the midst of winter, when he woke up in the morning, he felt stiff, but the stiffness was reduced by the activity, and he thought the weather was too cold to “freeze”, so he didn’t care. As the disease continued, Chen’s discomfort intensified, but only when he went to the hospital to know: he had ankylosing spondylitis.
It is true that Xiao Chen’s case is not a special case. Unlike other bone diseases in the middle-aged and elderly, ankylosing spondylitis especially likes to “ambush” young people, mostly in young and middle-aged men in their 20s and 30s, and the early symptoms are easy to relieve, with “latent “The early symptoms of sacroiliac arthritis are often overlooked, as young people are often unaware of the muscle aches and pains caused by exertion. Some data say that there is an average delay of 6 years from the first symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis to the diagnosis, and more than
50% of patients are diagnosed in the middle to late stages.
2. Physical and mental torture
As the disease progresses, the pain gradually extends to the chest and neck. In normal people, you can see the rise and fall of the chest when you breathe, but if the disease invades the chest, the breathing movement will be limited, and the same young people can blow 4,000 to 5,000 spirometry, but you can only blow 2,000 to 3,000. The discomfort will also become more and more unbearable. Intermittent pain on one side can develop into prolonged pain on both sides, with some patients waking up in pain at night.
The most serious consequence is the impact on the spine. If the condition is not controlled in time, the normal movement of the spine will be gradually lost. Some patients often bend their backs and hips to relieve pain, and the whole person is bent at a right angle and cannot look ahead. In addition, patients not only have to endure physical pain, but also have to face the gradual loss of social functions and self-care. Young patients find it difficult to accept this difference and suffer psychologically, and depression and anxiety are often unavoidable.
So, is there really nothing you can do about ankylosing spondylitis? However, patients who also have ankylosing spondylitis are living life to the fullest, which undoubtedly brings an answer to the question of the “two weapons” against ankylosing spondylitis: early detection and proper treatment.
The “two weapons” against ankylosing spondylitis
There is no doubt that early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment have a lot to do with this. However, it should be noted that the recovery process of ankylosing spondylitis is closely related to the patients themselves, from early diagnosis (patient vigilance, compliance) to comprehensive treatment (patients reasonable exercise, standardized medication, maintain good rest and diet, etc.) are inseparable from the full participation of patients, it can be said that, to some extent, the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, the patient’s persistence is more important than the treatment of doctors.
1. Early diagnosis and continuous attention without giving up
When it comes to diagnosis, one should not think that it is all the responsibility of the doctor. The “early” here emphasizes the patient’s own vigilance.
Young people with unexplained low back pain, morning stiffness or limited lumbar spine or thoracic movement, and similar conditions in their loved ones, should pay attention and actively seek medical attention. If treatment is started when only mild arthritis is detected on imaging, joint deformity and loss of function can be delayed or even avoided. In some patients, there are no obvious lesions on imaging, but symptoms and signs of sacroiliac arthritis are present. Although the disease is not diagnosed for the time being, it should not be taken lightly, and patients should be reviewed regularly to monitor the development of the disease and cooperate with their physicians in follow-up.
The outcome of ankylosing spondylitis has a considerable relationship with the degree of attention paid by the patient himself. Persistent attention can delay the arrival of severe deformities and functional deficits, and in some cases can even be spared. This is the same as taking antihypertensive drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease, quit smoking to prevent lung cancer, long-term adherence to comprehensive treatment to ultimately benefit.
2.Diligent exercise and multiple treatments together
For early stage patients, correcting wrong posture and physical exercise are important parts of comprehensive treatment.
Many people usually have the habit of lowering their heads and holding their chests and hunching their waists. These postures will cause improper force on joints and accelerate the deterioration of the disease. Patients should always think of themselves as a soldier, walk with their heads up and chest out, sit upright and straight, while insisting on sleeping in a hard bed with a short pillow, lying on their backs as much as possible, and stopping the use of pillows if the thoracic or cervical spine is involved. Physical activities that may aggravate the condition are not done as much as possible, such as fixing a posture for a long time, lifting heavy objects, etc.
In daily life, patients can perform the following simple exercises
1, deep breathing and chest expansion, can slow down the decline in lung capacity, deep breathing adhere to the daily practice 2-3 times, each repetition of about 20 times. Chest expansion about 10-20 times each time.
2, stand against the wall, so that the head, back, hips, heels are against the wall, maintain more than half an hour, can maintain the correct posture of the spine.
3.Local functional exercise, this is for the joint with restricted activity, mainly flexion and extension exercises, such as hip dysfunction patients can do more to put on and take off shoes and socks, pants and get up, squatting and other self-care training.
4.When the pain is too severe for regular exercise, you can help the joint to move passively. When not doing exercise, the joints with acute symptoms should be placed in functional position.
Patients can appropriately participate in some low-intensity aerobic activities, such as swimming, yoga, tai chi, etc. Swimming is a good whole-body exercise, including both limb movement and chest expansion, and is also good for maintaining the normal physiological curvature of the spine. However, some sports that have an impact on the joints, such as basketball games, running, etc., patients are best not to participate. Patients who are in a position to do so can also consult a professional rehabilitation therapist to develop an individualized exercise program and perform regular, standardized pulling exercises to train muscle strength and posture. This can be very helpful for patients to recover their daily living ability.
Posture correction and exercise therapy are important to adhere to, one cannot fish for three days, and the other should be gradual and measured, not to be rushed. When the pain is slightly relieved, the amount of exercise to recover from fatigue after exercise within 2 hours as the standard, the difficulty of the action should be from easy to difficult.
Standardized medication is crucial to relieve symptoms, control inflammation and delay the disease
Although exercise is the cornerstone of comprehensive treatment, but I must emphasize that exercise alone can not slow down the development of the disease, standardized drug therapy is essential. The current treatment drugs are mainly NSAIDs, biologics and drugs such as lorazepam and thalidomide. The medication is as important as exercise, and adherence to the physician’s instructions can effectively control the inflammatory response and reduce pain. If the disease has progressed to the point of ankylosis and deformity, surgical procedures can be performed to improve the quality of life and restore some of the working ability. The most common type of surgery is hip replacement, and severe spinal deformities can be improved through surgery.
Maintain a good state of mind and a healthy life from now on
Many patients have to get sick when they are stressed at work and study, so it is important to take rest and maintain a good state of mind. It is necessary to quit smoking strictly. In addition to a diet high in protein, vitamins, calcium and iron-rich foods that are easy to digest, patients should develop recipes with personal characteristics based on their medications and underlying diseases. For example, patients who have been taking NSAIDs for a long time should pay attention to protecting their stomachs by not eating foods that stimulate gastric acid secretion such as leeks and groundnuts, and by eating less spicy, fried and stimulating foods. Patients with secondary osteoporosis should also take appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplements and engage in regular outdoor activities. Patients should have a hygienic and regular diet. Overeating and unclean diet will increase the chance of intestinal diseases, increase the probability of developing and aggravate the disease.
Summary
In summary, although the cause of ankylosing spondylitis is unknown and there is no cure, it is possible to delay the appearance of a serious outcome with the above comprehensive treatment. Therefore, please do not give up on yourself, start exercising now and actively cooperate with the treatment, at least it will not affect your life and work. From now on, seize the opportunity of fate and early intervention, maybe you can also become a winner in life.