Tips to prevent Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing Spondylitis is a common type of arthritis that primarily affects the spine though other joints can become involved. The exact cause of the disease is not known and there is no cure for the disease. Treatment with medications can help to control symptoms. You can prevent worsening of symptoms by following certain steps. Following the given measures may help to prevent complications, progression of the disease and make living with the disease easier.

Regular exercises: Experts say that exercise should be an integral part of any spondylitis management program. Age and level of fitness should not be considered as a contradiction for exercises. Your doctor or physiotherapist can guide you regarding the exercise that will be best for you. Doing exercises daily can improve your muscle strength, create better posture and improve joint flexibility and overall fitness. Apart from this, it can help to lessen pain.

Eat healthy: Good diet and adopting healthy life style changes can improve your overall health and symptoms. Healthy diet can help you to maintain your optimal body weight.

Take your medication: Take your medications as recommended. You should take your pain relieving medicine as recommended to ease pain so that you can do regular exercises without much discomfort.

Regular reviews: AS is a chronic condition and therefore, a regular follow up as advised by your healthcare professional is important. During follow-up, the doctor can assess your progress, check for side effects of medications and recommend changes in treatment.

Keeping well: You should take measures to avoid preventable illness such as flu, typhoid etc, which can be prevented by vaccination. Consult your doctor for vaccination and other measures to avoid/prevent infections.

Posture: Adopting good posture techniques may delay or prevent some of the complications of spondylitis including stiffness and flexion deformities / kyphosis (downward curvature) of the spine.

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