We don't have "Arthritis".
We have Autoimmune Arthritis diseases.
Ankylosing Spondylitis
IAAM was partially founded due to the misunderstandings surrounding this particular group of diseases. These misconceptions not only cause great frustration to patients who must live battling the lack of awareness in society, but in addition, many in the medical world seemingly also are not up-to-date on what to look for when potentially diagnosing AS. 
Ankylosing spondylitis, is a systemic disease, that causes ongoing joint inflammation primarily affecting the spine, however, it often causes inflammation in other joints away from the spine, as well as organs, such as the eyes, heart, lungs, and kidneys. In the most advanced cases, but not in all cases, this inflammation can lead to spine fusion. Ankylosing spondylitis affects all age groups, including children. The most common age of onset of symptoms is in the second and third decades of life.
IAAM's primary goal is to raise awareness about misunderstood 'arthritis' diseases such as AS. In doing this, we have launched an Awareness Poster Series, which began with Juvenile Awareness. The next poster, AS Awareness, was launched in November 2011. IAAM enlisted the help of fellow awareness advocate group, the Ankylosing Spondylitis Awareness Project (ASAP), to launch a contest for ideas that best portrayed the misunderstandings of AS. ASAP member, and AS patient, Asqa Rajput, submitted the conceptual design (bottom left) that led to the final poster design created by IAAM.
Click on the poster above to download a pdf file. Copyrighted design property of IAAM.
Myths and Frustrations
Design concept (left) submitted by Aqsa that inspired our AS Awareness Poster. To view some of Aqsa's other AS posters, please scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Here are some of the most common "Myths and Frustrations" as described by patients living with AS:
1. It's a "man's disease". Historically speaking, diagnosis of AS was predominately in men, ages 17-34. However, symptoms typically present themselves as "classic" in men, whereas in women this is not true as often. Many female patients will tell you it took years to get a confirmed AS diagnosis- which lends to the question of accuracy in the statistics that currently state more than twice as many men get AS than women.
2. "It's just back pain." This could be a universal complaint among all the Autoimmune Arthritis diseases- just replace the back pain for another body location. People, in general, try to find common ground with others as a form of communicating and relating to one another. Many can relate to back pain- what they do not understand is the back pain felt as a result of an autoimmune disease is much different than pain from general wear and tear or aging.
3. You must be HLA-B27 to have AS. While statistically over 90% of patients recorded to have AS also carry this gene, it can be diagnosed without a positive result.
Symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis
The symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis are related to inflammation of the spine, joints, and other organs. The main involvement is of the sacroiliac (SI) joints, which are the joints at the base of the spine, where the spine joins the pelvis.
The onset of pain and stiffness is usually gradual and progressively worsens over months. However, the onset can be rapid and intense, for symptoms will vary per patient.
Not all patients will experience fusion. However, for those who do, once fused the pain in the spine typically disappears, but the patient has a complete loss of spine mobility. Chronic spondylitis and ankylosis cause forward curvature of the upper torso (thoracic spine), limiting breathing capacity. Spondylitis can also affect the areas where ribs attach to the upper spine, further limiting lung capacity.
Advanced spondylitis can lead to deposits of protein material called amyloid into the kidneys and result in kidney failure.
Diagnosing Ankylosing Spondylitis
To determine the cause of your discomfort, your doctor will conduct a medical history and complete a physical examination.
Blood Tests. Most individuals who have AS also have a gene that produces a "genetic marker" called HLA-B27. This marker is found in over 90% of people in the caucasian population with AS, but varies in cases of other ethnicities. In fact, you do not need to have a positive HLA-B27 marker to have AS.
The overall points taken into account when making an AS diagnosis are:
- Onset is usually under 35 years of age.
- Pain persists for more than 3 months (i.e. it is chronic).
- The back pain and stiffness worsen with immobility, especially at night and early morning
- The back pain and stiffness tend to ease with physical activity and exercise.
- Positive response to NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
Other symptoms and indicators are also taken into account including a history of iritis or uveitis (inflammation of the eye), a history of gastrointestinal infections (for example, the presence of Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis), a family history of AS, as well as fatigue due to the presence of inflammation.
The overall points taken into account when making an AS diagnosis are:
- Onset is usually under 35 years of age.
- Pain persists for more than 3 months (i.e. it is chronic).
- The back pain and stiffness worsen with immobility, especially at night and early morning
- The back pain and stiffness tend to ease with physical activity and exercise.
- Positive response to NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
Other symptoms and indicators are also taken into account including a history of iritis or uveitis (inflammation of the eye), a history of gastrointestinal infections (for example, the presence of Crohn's Disease or ulcerative colitis), a family history of AS, as well as fatigue due to the presence of inflammation.
IAAM believes in our supporters and their ability and need to have a voice. Asqa, the winner of our poster competition, has created a series of AS Awareness drawings. We hope her vision helps you or your loved ones to better understand Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Click on the image above to view all four of her drawings.
