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Low back pain and stiffness are the hallmarks of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but they may not be the first or only symptoms of this inflammatory type of spinal arthritis.
At least 2.7 million people in the United States have ankylosing spondylitis and related forms of arthritis (axial spondyloarthritis), based on data collected in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2010 and published in the journal
The disease can be severe, causing the spine to fuse into a fixed, hunched position, but it can also be less dramatic. Some people with ankylosing spondylitis experience only intermittent periods of mild back pain throughout their life.
If you re struggling to come to grips with a chronic diagnosis, think about Mars yes, the Red Planet or something else that you’re truly passionate about. That’s the advice Tanya Harrison, 35, from Washington, DC, who calls herself a “professional Martian,” offers for anyone with a chronic disease. Harrison, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) at age 14, is now a geoscientist at Planet Labs and has worked in mission ops for three NASA Mars missions.
“Find something that you love and are passionate about to act as a distraction and/or a motivator,” says Harrison. “For me, that thing was Mars and space. Going after my goals has pushed me through the pain and frustration of dealing with AS, and I want others to find the thing that does that for them.”
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine, is a chronic condition that can’t be cured but it
can be managed, says Terence Starz, M.D., clinical professor of medicine and occupational therapy in the division of rheumatology and clinical immunology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh, PA. So, don’t settle for just surviving, he urges not when thriving is in within reach.
Still, it can be hard to know where to start when you’re first faced with such an overwhelming diagnosis, even as you’re trying to manage chronic pain and other challenging symptoms. Here, Dr. Starz offers his top five tips for how to stay strong and take control of your AS: