Ankylosing spondylitis, a term that sounds like a heart attack, is a cold and unforgiving disease. It is like an invisible killer lurking deep within the body, silently eroding people's health. With its chronic, progressive, and systemic characteristics, this disease specifically attacks the sacroiliac joints, spinal bony prominences, paraspinal soft tissues, and peripheral joints of the human body, and even sometimes triggers various discomforts outside the joints.
Due to its complex pathogenesis and causes, it is like an intricate labyrinth, which makes it difficult to find the key to cure the disease once it is acquired. Therefore, it is also figuratively called “the cancer that won't die”. This name sounds desperate because it seems to indicate that the patient will be accompanied by the disease for life, and cannot get rid of it. What is even more distressing is that the prevalence of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is not low, with about 3 to 5 out of every 1,000 people suffering from the disease. Moreover, it seems to have a predilection for men, with a ratio of 2 to 4 to 1. The disease often starts in young adulthood, with people between the ages of 15 and 40 being its main targets. More worryingly, 10 to 20 per cent of patients are affected before the age of 16, and the peak age of onset is between 18 and 35.
When ankylosing spondylitis (AS) creeps in, its symptoms are like stealthy assassins that silently sneak into the lives of sufferers. First, there is inflammatory lower back pain, which in its early stages is like an elusive shadow that gives you a vague feeling of discomfort in your lower back but is difficult to pinpoint. It often becomes more aggressive at night and rest, aggravating your pain as if the devil had crept in in the dead of night. Miraculously, however, when you begin to move your body, this pain seems to ease again, leading you to believe that it is only a transient nuisance. But as time goes by, the pain will gradually worsen and may even wake you up in the middle of the night with pain, making it difficult for you to turn over and seriously affecting the quality of your sleep. Next, there is morning stiffness. When you wake up early in the morning or get up after sitting for a long time, you will feel as if your lower back is bound by an invisible shackle, stiff and difficult to move. Miraculously, when you start to move your body, this stiffness gradually decreases, as if your body is gradually waking up. However, as the disease progresses further, AS begins to show its more brutal side - ankylosis of the spine. In the later stages of the disease, your entire spine will gradually become stiff from the bottom up, like a rusty iron bar, making it impossible for you to bend your body freely.
Your spinal movement will become extremely restricted, to the point where you can't bend over, and you may even develop a hunchback deformity. Thankfully, however, most patients have lesions that are limited to part of the spine or limited to the sacroiliac joints and do not involve the entire spine. Finally, there is alternating hip pain. Some patients feel a dull ache in the buttocks or a sharp pain in the lumbosacral area, and this pain sometimes radiates to the periphery. This pain may worsen when you cough, sneeze, or twist your lower back suddenly as if your buttocks are being gripped tightly by an invisible force.
These are the symptoms brought about by AS, and they are like a silent battle that leaves patients struggling with pain and stiffness. But remember, as long as we face it bravely and treat it aggressively, we will be able to defeat this tenacious foe.
Imagine young people who were once energetic and full of hope, having to say goodbye to the workplace early or even unable to take care of themselves because of the onslaught of ankylosing spondylitis. Their life trajectory has been forcibly changed, and their dreams and pursuits have been mercilessly destroyed. This kind of pain is not only a torture to the patients but also a heavy blow to their families.
Although ankylosing spondylitis, once a daunting “immortal cancer”, still cannot be completely cured, with the rapid development of science and technology, today's medical community has emerged a batch after batch of new medicines, as if a ray of light, illuminating the way forward for patients. These new drugs are like powerful warriors, bravely fighting against the disease and bringing a ray of hope to the patients.
