Symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Symptoms of

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS)

The most common features of the disease are chronic back pain and progressive spinal stiffness. Muscle spasm, local tenderness, and joint or tendon sheath swelling are usually present too.

It is also possible that the patient has considerable low back pain and stiffness but noticeable local tenderness or spasm or limitation in movement. This is the case when other joints of the limbs are not involved.1

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is commonly seen to affect the following joints/tissues in our body:2

Ankle joint, Hip Joint, Ribcage, Shoulder joint, Spine tendons and ligaments, Lower back vertebrae, Sacroiliac joint

Complications of Ankylosing Spondylitis3

Chronic pain

Disability

Mood disorders

Aortic regurgitation
(condition where blood flows back into the
heart in a reverse direction)

Pulmonary fibrosis
(chronic skin condition caused by an
overactive immune system)

CaudaEquina syndrome
(damage of 'cauda equina', which are the
nerves below the end of spinal cord)

References –

Wenker KJ, Quint JM. Ankylosing Spondylitis. [Updated 2018 Nov 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470173/
Ankylosing spondylitis.Mayo clinic.https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ankylosing-spondylitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354808. Accessed 17 Dec 2019.
M Ward.Outcomes in ankylosing spondylitis: what makes the assessment of treatment effects in ankylosing spondylitis different?Ann Rheum Dis. 2006 Nov; 65(Suppl 3): iii25–iii28.