Are you ever grateful for your spine, its uprightness,
its support, its design? If you don’t think about it, you’re not alone. Like so
many things in our daily Manchester lives, we take our spines for
granted…until there is pain or difficulty. True? True.
Well, the spine’s uprightness allows us humans to wander
around our Manchester worlds with ease: eyes forward, head up, feet one
step in front of the other. The gentle curves balance us well. Normal. This
normal state is how most Manchester folks exist thankfully. On
the other hand, a few Manchester people find themselves with back
pain conditions that are not normal and actually cause pain. One
such condition is ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a condition Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
finds to be quite responsive to Manchester chiropractic care. But
first, more about AS and the latest findings.
Ankylosing spondylitis is
an inflammatory rheumatic
disease mainly affecting the axial skeleton.
Inflammation of the spine and a
strong genetic association with the HLA-B27 antigen is documented.
(1) AS makes
the spine rigid and inflexible over time. The
bones actually fuse together,
making the spine curve forward and walking difficult. Moreover, a spine with AS
may develop osteoporosis which increases the risk of spinal fracture.
(2)
Your Manchester
back pain specialist at Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries is well aware of
osteoporosis, its fracture risk
and management, and can manage this added layer of risk due to AS as well.
Now, medical literature points out that AS patients have
a 5-fold higher risk of clinical spine fracture and a 35% increased risk of
non-vertebral fracture. This extra risk peaks early, in the first 2 and a half
years of AS disease. It is recommended that AS patients be assessed for
fracture risk early after their AS diagnosis. (3) Trust Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries to do
this for you or your loved one with AS.
Since AS usually runs its course over several years, researchers
and clinicians like your Manchester chiropractor at Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries wonder
what factors lead ankylosing spondylitis patients to develop
syndesmophytes,
those calcified ligaments that look like they flow down the bones of the AS
spine, fusing them together. Researchers found that older age, longer disease
duration, severe sacroiliitis (inflammation of one or both of the sacroiliac
joints), the baseline presence of syndesmophytes, and elevated levels of C-reactive
protein are predictors of more syndesmophytes.
(4) Having a clinician like your
Manchester chiropractor who understands this condition can really help
contain its effects and maintain mobility in your spine as AS progresses.
So contact Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries for a consultation about your
ankylosing spondylilitis. Entrust your spine (or your loved one's) to the capable hands of Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries and the gentle
stretching treatment of Cox Technic to manage all your spinal conditions. Be
grateful for your spine, and treat it to chiropractic care.