UNDERSTANDING ARTHRITIS

Axial Spondyloarthritis

UNDERSTANDING ARTHRITIS

What are Axial Spondyloarthritis?

Axial spondyloarthritis is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune disease. Normally, the immune system fights infections, but in autoimmune diseases, it attacks a person’s own body. In axial spondyloarthritis, the immune system causes damage to the spine.

Some people with more severe axial spondyloarthritis can see the damage to the joint between the spine and hip bones on an X-ray. This is called radiographic axial spondyloarthritis or ankylosing spondylitis. When the damage isn’t visible on X-ray, it is called non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

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Axial Spondyloarthritis

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Signs and Symptoms of Axial Spondyloarthritis?

  • Back pain, often in the lower back and extending to the hips or buttocks. The pain is not sudden, and instead develops over the span of weeks.
  • Pain or swelling in neck, shoulders, upper back, ribcage, knees, ankles, heels or toes
  • Stiffness in the morning or after resting
  • Movement problems (especially with ankylosing spondylitis)
  • Fatigue or tiredness
  • Sleep problems
  • Loss of appetite
  • Skin or eye inflammation

Who has Axial Spondyloarthritis?

Around 1 in every 100 people have axial spondyloarthritis, that’s about 300 million people in the United States.

Anyone can have axial spondyloarthritis. But some people have a higher risk of having it.

  • Axial spondyloarthritis is most often diagnosed in teenagers or young adults.
  • It is 2-3 times more common in men than women.
  • Black people are less likely to have axial spondyloarthritis than
    white people, but their disease may be more severe.
  • More severe axial spondyloarthritis is also more common in certain Arctic groups, such as people in Alaska, Siberia, and certain Native American and Canadian tribes .
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