What are the methods for maintaining health in ankylosing spondylitis?

Under normal circumstances, daily care for patients with ankylosing spondylitis should focus on slowing disease progression, relieving discomfort symptoms, and maintaining physical function. This mainly includes maintaining correct posture, adhering to moderate exercise, emphasizing dietary regulation, ensuring proper warmth and protection, and maintaining a positive mindset. Detailed analysis is as follows:

1. Maintain Correct Posture: Pay attention to standing, sitting, and sleeping posture in daily life. Stand upright with your chest out, head up, abdomen in, and buttocks lifted, avoiding slouching or a hunched back. When sitting, choose a chair with lumbar and back support, keep your lower back straight, and get up and move around every hour or so.

2. Engage in Moderate Exercise: Choose low-impact activities on the spine such as swimming, yoga, and tai chi. Aim to exercise 3–5 times per week, with each session lasting about 30 minutes. Exercise strengthens the muscles around the spine, improves spinal flexibility, and alleviates joint stiffness, but avoid strenuous activity or overexertion.

3. Focus on Dietary Regulation: Ensure a balanced diet rich in protein, calcium, and vitamins, such as milk, eggs, lean meat, soy products, and fresh vegetables and fruits, to support bone health and immune function. Reduce intake of spicy, stimulating, and greasy foods, and avoid smoking and alcohol consumption.

4. Ensure Proper Warmth and Protection: Pay particular attention to keeping the spine and joints warm to avoid cold exposure and dampness. During seasonal changes or cold weather, dress appropriately in layers and use warm supports such as lumbar and neck guards. Avoid staying for long periods in cold or damp environments—for example, avoid direct exposure to air conditioning airflow, to prevent cold-induced joint pain and stiffness.

5. Maintain a Positive Mindset: Long-term effects of the disease may lead to anxiety and depression. Actively adjust your mindset by communicating more with family and friends, cultivating hobbies to shift focus, such as reading, listening to music, or painting. A positive mindset helps improve physical immunity and promotes recovery.

In addition, patients can use heat application, massage, and other methods to relieve spinal and joint discomfort. It is also important to follow medical advice strictly, attend regular follow-up appointments, and adjust the care plan according to changes in the condition to better maintain physical function.