Ankylosing Spondylitis: Symptoms, Treatments, and Living With Chronic Spinal Inflammation

When you think of back pain, you might picture a slipped disc or a bad lift at the gym. But for people with ankylosing spondylitis, a long-term inflammatory disease that mainly affects the spine and sacroiliac joints. Also known as axial spondyloarthritis, it doesn’t just hurt—it locks up. This isn’t ordinary stiffness. It’s the body’s immune system attacking its own joints, causing bone to fuse over time, especially in the lower back and neck. Many don’t realize it starts young—often in the teens or 20s—and it’s more common in men, though women get it too, often with milder symptoms that get missed.

What makes ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis that primarily targets the spine and pelvis. Also known as AS, it different from other joint problems is how it spreads. It doesn’t just stay in the spine. It can hit the ribs, making breathing harder. It can inflame the eyes—up to 40% of people with AS get uveitis. And yes, it can affect the heart, lungs, and even the gut. That’s why it’s not just a back issue. It’s a whole-body condition. And it’s not rare. Around 0.1% to 0.5% of people in the U.S. have it. That’s tens of thousands who wake up every morning not sure if they’ll move without pain.

There’s no cure, but there are ways to slow it down. Movement isn’t optional—it’s medicine. Physical therapy, swimming, yoga—these aren’t suggestions. They’re survival tools. Medications like NSAIDs help with pain, but biologics like TNF inhibitors can actually stop the fusion process. And yes, some people with AS also have psoriasis or Crohn’s disease, which means their immune system is on fire in more than one place. That’s why treatment isn’t one-size-fits-all. What works for one person might do nothing for another.

You’ll find posts here that talk about real experiences—how people manage pain without opioids, how support groups help when doctors run out of answers, and how newer treatments are changing the game. You’ll see how psoriatic arthritis, a related inflammatory condition that links skin psoriasis with joint damage. Also known as PsA, it shares symptoms and treatments with AS, and why getting the right diagnosis can take years. You’ll read about how medication errors, mistakes in drug dosing or timing that can worsen chronic conditions. Also known as drug mistakes, they are especially dangerous for people on long-term biologics, and why tracking your meds matters more than ever.

There’s no magic fix. But knowing what you’re dealing with—what the pain really means, what treatments actually work, and what to watch out for—can change everything. The posts below aren’t just about drugs and diagnoses. They’re about how people live with this. How they move. How they sleep. How they keep going when the world thinks it’s just back pain.