Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes severe back pain, stiffness, and, if left untreated, the potential for permanent spinal fusion. AS is part of a broader group of diseases known as spondyloarthritis, which affects not just the spine but also the joints, eyes, skin, and digestive system. Despite the fact that over 500,000 Canadians are living with spondyloarthritis, public awareness is still shockingly low, and many people go years before receiving a diagnosis. My ride is about changing that — encouraging early diagnosis, pushing for better patient care, and most importantly, offering greater support to those affected.
Spondyloarthritis (SpA) describes a group of chronic inflammatory diseases with common clinical, genetic, and pathogenic features that cause pain and stiffness in your back. It can also affect the knees, hips, eyes, skin, and gastrointestinal tract.
Although SpA causes primarily inflammation of the spine, the inflammation and pain are often systemic, which means you experience symptoms all over your body. You may experience symptoms in your other joints, including your neck, shoulders, hips, or ankles.
Spondyloarthritis is an immune-mediated disease, meaning your own immune system is attacking the body. The immune system is supposed to recognize and attack bacteria and viruses, but in an autoimmune response, it sees its own cells as invaders and releases antibodies that damage healthy cells and tissues.
If you’ve ever thrown your back out, or had a bout of sciatica, you’ve experienced mechanical pain.
However, there is another cause for back pain that can’t be traced back to a mechanical source.
Inflammatory back pain is caused by an autoimmune response, when your body attacks healthy tissues, causing inflammation and pain.
Want to find out if you have inflammatory pain? Take the test on the Canadian Spondyloarthritis Association‘s Website, below.
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