Axial Spondyloarthritis Symptoms That Often Get Overlooked
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When your back starts aching, you might immediately think of the usual culprits—picking up that 50-pound bag of dog food, working from the sofa most days instead of an ergonomic desk chair—but there’s something else that could be to blame: axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA). The symptoms of this inflammatory disease—including lower back pain—can all be easily attributed to something else or written off as just “weird body things.” The result: People who have it often don’t get a diagnosis or start treatment for up to seven years—or longer. Here are the telltale signs to look for.
What even is axial spondyloarthritis?
Like other forms of arthritis, AxSpA is characterized by joint inflammation. But it impacts particular parts of the body, specifically the spine and the sacroiliac joint, which is where the backbone and the pelvis meet. Generally, AxSpA causes symptoms like back pain and fatigue, but it can also affect joints in the extremities (like hands and feet) and the ends of tendons, which connect muscle to bone, says Abhijeet Danve, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of the Yale Spondyloarthritis Program at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. The eyes, skin, and stomach can also be impacted.
If those body parts seem somewhat unconnected, they are. We don’t know why AxSpA preferentially affects parts of the body beyond the back and pelvis, but Dr. Danve notes that it may have something to do with genes and site-specific inflammation.
