The chronic inflammatory disease primarily affects the spinal joints, causing pain and progressive stiffness
Have you ever heard of ankylosing spondylitis? Despite being a very common condition, affecting more than 2 million Brazilians, it is a poorly understood disease and often confused with simple back pain. It is, in fact, a chronic inflammatory disease, still without a cure, which has the joints of the spine, shoulders, hips and knees as its main targets. If not treated properly, it can lead to spinal deformities and inflammation in other organs, such as the eyes, intestines, and skin.
What is ankylosing spondylitis?
Ankylosing spondylitis is characterized by daily pain in the sacroiliac spine (buttocks), which is usually confused with sciatic pain. “Most patients arrive complaining of lower back pain. It is a pain that improves with physical activity and worsens with rest. Sometimes, the patient you wake up during the night due to pain and, in the morning, when you wake up, there is a feeling of stiffness, as if you are blocked,” explains rheumatologist Dr. Sonia Loduca, member of the Rheumatology Society of São Paulo (SPR) and chief of HSPE-SP spondyloarthritis.
Importance of research and treatment
The disease is more common in men under 40, but also affects women and also children. The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that approximately 80% of the world’s population will suffer from lumbar spine pain at some point in their lives, usually due to poor posture or repetitive physical exertion. “Ankylosing spondylitis is chronic, daily pain in the same place that persists for more than three months and must be diagnosed and treated correctly so that it does not get worse,” emphasizes the rheumatologist.
Beware of using medications
Dr. Sonia Loduca also warns about the consequences of the indiscriminate use of anti-inflammatories: “these non-prescription drugs can delay the search for a doctor, jeopardizing the correct diagnosis and treatment, since the drug can mask the symptoms”, she underlines. . This is what happened to accountant Luciana Ribeiro, 49 years old. She discovered ankylosing spondylitis 6 years ago after many trips at the hospital, many drugs and misdiagnoses.
For Luciana, in an MRI that showed 11 protrusions and three hernias in her spine, her life has changed. “I took many anti-inflammatories, until they had no effect, the doctor switched to corticosteroids, then the morphine patch, I was stuck on corticosteroids in the hospital. I was hospitalized 3 times and also had an operation on my spine spine to remove a lump, which could be causing the pain. There was one day when I couldn’t take it anymore, I knelt down in the doctor’s office and started crying profusely, in a lot of pain,” she says.
Impacts of the disease and challenges faced
Luciana comments that the sensation she had was of being stabbed in the ribs, with so much pain: “it felt like my spine had an iron bar in the middle, which didn’t bend. My hip was burning, burning and hurting all over “, the leg, the fasciitis in the foot, everything hurt. I slept knowing that the next day there would be more pain, in addition to the previous ones. In one year, I lost 70% of my movements.”
After many attempts like constant pain, consultations, exams, orthopedics, physiotherapy, massages, osteopathy, Luciana went to the rheumatologist. “When I told him about the morning stiffness and intense pain coming from deep in the bone, the rheumatologist suspected ankylosing spondylitis.”
Benefits of a correct diagnosis
With proper care and follow-up, quality of life can be regained. “I came back to life 15 days after the correct diagnosis, with the follow-up of a sensitive and humane rheumatologist (Dr. Karina Bonfiglioli, also a member of the SPR), an ankylosing spondylitis specialist. I started biological medication, with the necessary adaptations, in addition to medicine to help with pain, physiotherapy and daily physical activity, I also do therapy, to heal the emotional side,” says Luciana.
By Rita Santos
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
