Ankylosis spondylitis is one of the many forms of inflammatory arthritis, affecting 129 of every 100,000 people in the United States.

Ankylosis spondylitis is a rheumatic disease that causes arthritis of the spine and sacroiliac joints, but with proper treatment you will experience less pain. The sooner you are treated for ankylosis spondylitis, the less likely you will experience complications and physical deformities.

While it is not as common as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosis spondylitis is just as serious. Ankylosis spondylitis may cause inflammation of the eyes, lungs, and heart valves. Some people with ankylosis spondylitis experience loss of motion and severe joint and back stiffness.

Ankylosis spondylitis is sometimes called spondalitis or rheumatoid spondalitis. If you have ankylosis spondylitis, you may expect intermittent episodes of back pain. For some people with ankylosis spondylitis, the condition progresses to the point where it becomes so serious it attacks the peripheral joints, spine and major organs of the body.

If you have been diagnosed with ankolysing spondylitis, you may notice the condition begins to affect the joints in your ribs where they attach to your spine, the joints in your arms and legs as well as the tendons and ligaments where they attach to your bones.

However, the most common symptom of ankolysing spondylitis is inflammation of the joints between the vertebrae of the spine and the joints between the spine and pelvis.

Ankolysing spondylitis does not discriminate by gender or age, although you are more likely to have ankolysing spondylitis if you are a teenager or in your twenties. You are three times as likely to have ankolysing spondalitis if you are male especially an adolescent or young male.

Similar to Reiters disease, ankolysing spondylitis belongs to the family of diseases that attack the spine called spondylarthropathies. Spondylosis cervical and lumbar problems also fall into this category.

It is common for ankylosing spondylitis to be misdiagnosed by their doctor who believes he or she merely suffers with back problems. In fact, other disorders of the internal organs and bones mimic spondylarthropathies.

One of the signs that a person may be suffering with ankylosing spondylitis is when they lack flexibility in the lumbar spine. Another sign of ankylosing spondylitis is when a person experiences arthritis in the shoulder, hips and feet.

Other symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis include weight loss, eye inflammation, fatigue, anemia, heart valve dysfunction, early-morning stiffness and pain, feeling better after exercise and feeling worse after rest, slow or gradual onset of back pain and stiffness over weeks or months, night sweats and fever.

If you have been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, your physician may prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.

However, medication is just one piece of the puzzle in treating ankylosing spondilytis. It's also important to undergo rehabilitation. Exercise by swimming or doing yoga to keep the joints flexible. Back exercises as well as abdominal exercises often help people suffering with Ankylosing spondylitis.

Since it's a chronic condition, people with ankylosing spondylitis need to be prepared to deal with it for their entire lives. Without proper treatment, you could lose mobility and suffer with posture problems for the rest of your life.

Finally, depending on your gender and age, ankylosing spondylitis will affect you in different ways. If you are a woman with ankylosing spondylitis you will experience more problems with your knees, pelvis, hips, ankles and wrists. If you are a man with ankylosing spondylitis, you are more likely to have problems associated with your spine. Your pelvis will also be affected as well as your chest wall, hips, shoulders and feet.
 

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