Spondylitis
Symptoms can vary from person to person and are heavily dependent on the severity of the ankylosing spondylitis. Some of the more common symptoms include:
- Back pain, especially in the lower back
- Stiffness, which is often most severe on waking and improves over the course of the day
- Pain and/or swelling of one or more joints
- Intestinal inflammation such as Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis
- Enthesitis which is inflammation in the area where the tendons and ligaments meet the bone (often occurs at the back of the heel)
Causes
Spondylitis is one of the most common causes of neck and back pain. The exact causes of spondylitis are unknown but there are certain factors that increase the risk of spondylitis, including:
- Age-related wear and tear on the vertebrae
- A neck injury incurred in the past
- Genetic predisposition
- Microfractures caused by osteoporosis
- Infectious diseases, such as brucellosis that affect the vertebrae
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