While doctors consider spondyloarthritis a serious condition, most affected individuals who receive the proper types of treatment are able to live productive lives. The tragedy for patients is that it’s considered a disease of the young.
Overview
This affliction actually consists of half a dozen disorders. In slightly different ways, they affect a patient’s joints, ligaments, tendons and spine. According to ygoy, spondyloarthritis develops most in individuals between the ages of 16 and 30. While most are men, one variety of spondyloarthritis appears to affect both men and women equally. This is psoriatic arthritis.
There are six distinct disorders that fall under the umbrella of spondyloarthritis, the Spondylitis Association of America reports. They include ankylosing spondylitis, undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy, juvenile spondyloarthropathy, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis and enteropathic arthritis.
According to the American College of Rheumatology, no specific cause or causes of this condition have ever been identified. Most experts consider heredity to be involved and have identified a gene, HLA-27, present in all patients. A few types of infections have also been blamed as the cause of one of the varieties of spondyloarthritis.
Symptoms
One of the tipoffs when doctors are trying to make a diagnosis is that spondyloarthritis patients all appear to lack some of the physical symptoms and markers associated with other types of arthritis. While symptoms vary a little from one type of the disorder to another, all patients are predisposed to an inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine, sacroiliac and other joints. Typically, enthesopathy, an inflammation at the points where ligaments join the bone, is also present.
The classic signs of spondyloarthritis are pain and inflammation. The condition is also marked by stiffness in the hip, back, knee, ankle, shoulder, neck and other joints. Patients lack joint flexibility. They commonly experience pain in the lower back and a deterioration of vertebrae. Less-common symptoms include lung inflammation, fever, indigestion, appetite loss and fatigue.
Spondyloarthritis isn’t just a disease of the spine and joints. It can also strike the skin and eyes. At least one type is associated with having either of the two disorders that comprise inflammatory bowel disease: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Treatment
Fortunately, individuals with spondyloarthritis have several treatment options and combinations available to them.
Exercising at least 30 minutes each day can help patients experience less pain and stiffness. The exercise might be walking for pleasure or physical therapy involving specific exercises.
Medications available to treat this condition range from over-the-counter drugs to expensive types available by prescription only. Many patients begin their treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen that are available off the shelf. The next step up in treatment is the use of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), examples of which are methotrexate and sulfasalazine.
Two types of medications come with potentially serious side effects. Oral corticosteroids like prednisone, though generally inexpensive, can cause a variety of permanent problems like bone thinning and cataracts when administered over an extended period of time. Among the annoying short-term side effects are weight gain and swinging levels of emotions. Some patients, however, profit from injections of steroids to relieve local joint problems.
The second type of drug that can result in serious side effects is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker. Examples include Remicade, Humira and Enbrel. Among the problems associated with these expensive medications is lowered immunity that can lead to infections.
For some patients, surgery is the most effective treatment for spondyloarthritis. It can correct spinal deformities and replace joints such as hips.