Early Symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis
Disease description:
Recently, I have been feeling that something is not quite right with my body. I often experience pain in my lower back and spine, especially when getting up in the morning, with a sensation of stiffness in the back. I suspect I might have ankylosing spondylitis. I would like to know what other early symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis are there.
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Chen Jian
Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints, and is categorized as a seronegative spondyloarthropathy. This disease typically manifests during adolescence and young adulthood, with a higher incidence rate in males than in females. The early symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis may not be obvious, but as the disease progresses, patients will gradually develop a series of characteristic clinical manifestations.
1. Low back pain: This pain may radiate to the buttocks, groin, and even lower limbs, becoming particularly noticeable during nighttime rest or prolonged sitting.
2. Morning stiffness: Patients experience stiffness in the spine, lower back, and neck upon waking in the morning, which may gradually improve with activity. The severity and duration of morning stiffness can serve as one of the indicators for assessing disease activity.
3. Fatigue: In the early stages, patients often experience unexplained fatigue and weakness, which may result from reduced physical function caused by chronic inflammation.
4. Loss of appetite: This may be related to irritation of the gastrointestinal tract by the disease.
5. Joint pain and swelling: In addition to the spine, some patients may experience pain and swelling in peripheral joints such as the hip, knee, and ankle joints during the early stages of the disease. Involvement of lower limb large joints, especially in a non-symmetric pattern, is relatively common.
