“I have a feeling of being petrified, I can’t sleep, the recurrence is more serious, and I need a wheelchair…” Recently, singer Li Yuchun admitted in a TV program that he suffered from ankylosing spondylitis, and described the pain at the time of the disease. . What kind of disease is ankylosing spondylitis? A reporter from China Business Daily interviewed Wang Jian, deputy director of the Rheumatology Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Xi’an People’s Hospital (Xi’an Fourth Hospital). The prevalence rate is 0.25%, the pain is unbearable and tormented at the time of onset
Ankylosing spondylitis is simply inflammation of the spine. It is not a general muscle strain, but an autoimmune disease. The disease mainly affects the sacroiliac joints, spine, paraspinal soft tissue and peripheral joints, causing spinal stiffness. and fibrosis, resulting in stooping and walking disorders. And there may be different degrees of damage to multiple organs such as the eyes, lungs, cardiovascular, and kidneys. Because the disease has the characteristics of chronicity and progression, the course of the disease lasts for one’s life, and the pain is unbearable and tormented at the onset of the disease. It is known as “immortal cancer”. In my country, the prevalence of ankylosing spondylitis is 0.25%, that is, about 25 people per 10,000 people are affected.
So, who is ankylosing spondylitis more common in? Wang Jian said that people who carry the human leukocyte B27 (HLA-B27) gene will have a significantly higher risk of disease, and have a certain genetic predisposition. In general, first-degree relatives of patients with ankylosing spondylitis are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop the disease than the general population. At the same time, ankylosing spondylitis also loves “young people”, usually the age of onset is 13-31 years old, and it is more common in men, with a male to female ratio of 2 to 3:1, and rarely occurs above 40 years old and below 8 years old.
In addition, occupations that cause body vibration, such as driving trucks, operating heavy equipment, etc., as well as other spondyloarthritis-related diseases, such as psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc., are also prone to ankylosing spondylitis. , need more attention.
A 27-year-old boy with low back pain was easily confused with lumbar muscle strain at the early stage of onset for many years
Recently, a 27-year-old boy, Mr. Zhang, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in the Rheumatology and Immunology Hospital of Xi’an People’s Hospital (Xi’an Fourth Hospital) due to “lumbar muscle strain”. When asked about his medical history, Mr. Zhang said that 9 years ago, he had lower back pain, and his lower back was obviously stiff when he got up in the morning or sitting for a long time. Lighten up slightly. However, as the symptoms recurred in the future, it did not attract his attention and was never diagnosed and treated.
Two months ago, when Mr. Zhang had pain in his lower back again, he had difficulty turning over in the morning, and was accompanied by alternating pain in the hip area on both sides, and even the pain from sneezing and coughing would worsen. hospital check. Mr. Zhang never thought that the low back pain that had tormented him for nearly ten years was actually caused by a disease he had never heard of, “Ankylosing Spondylitis”.
According to Mr. Zhang’s condition, the doctor judged that his disease was in the active stage, but the peripheral joints were not involved. Therefore, as long as drug control is given, reasonable exercise after a stable period, and daily attention to nutrition, sitting posture, etc., can achieve good therapeutic effects.
Why is ankylosing spondylitis so easily confused? Wang Jian said that because the painful parts of ankylosing spondylitis often appear in the lower back and buttocks, it is easy to be regarded as ordinary “lumbar muscle strain, lumbar disc herniation” and delay the treatment. But the biggest difference between it and general lumbar muscle strain is that lumbar muscle strain will ease after rest, while ankylosing spondylitis is just the opposite, symptoms will be aggravated after rest, but can be improved after activity.
Wang Jian reminded that early detection and early treatment are the key to the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. Generally, early detection can be controlled by drugs, which can greatly reduce the pain caused by the disease, prevent spinal joint deformation and disability, and with reasonable exercise, it can be infinitely close to “cure”. Especially for young patients, if they receive scientific treatment early, their lives are hardly affected.
Wang Jian said that if there is unexplained low back pain under the age of 40, there is no obvious relief after rest. The pain has lasted for more than 3 months. When the back pain is felt, the lower back is stiff, it is difficult to turn over at night, and the stiffness is obvious in the morning. After light activity, the feeling of discomfort in the back decreases or disappears. Especially if you have unexplained, long-term back pain, or feel stiff in the morning, it is best to go to the rheumatology and immunization department of the hospital for a professional examination.
Standard treatment can be stably controlled, and self-discontinuation of the drug can cause the disease to progress very quickly
Four years ago, Mr. Qian, 32, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis due to persistent low back pain and stiffness in the morning. After 3 months of active treatment, the symptoms disappeared completely, so Mr. Qian began to stop the medication on his own. Recently, Mr. Qian had symptoms such as restricted neck movement and pain in both hip joints. A few days ago, he came to the hospital again for treatment due to significantly aggravated pain in the left shoulder joint.
After the system inspection, Mr. Qian’s various indicators were abnormal. Under the lumbar MRI and neck MRI, the doctor found that his lumbar vertebral bodies had been completely fused, and there were bamboo-like changes, and some vertebral bodies of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae were also fused. “Although this patient has only a four-year medical history, because he has not undergone systematic treatment and long-term follow-up observation, his condition has progressed very quickly.” Wang Jian reminded that for patients with ankylosing spondylitis, once treatment starts, long-term observation is required Follow-up, standardized treatment, regular follow-up is very important. Whether the drug can be discontinued depends on the results of the patient’s annual regular assessment. Do not stop the drug by yourself.
Wang Jian said that ankylosing spondylitis is actually not as scary as what everyone sees on the Internet. It is a disease that is currently treated by rheumatology and immunology department. , Reduce the drug, stop the drug, the condition can be basically controlled stably. China Business Daily reporter Sun Xia