Hi All
Long time lurker. I’ve been recently diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis(bamboo spine) and have a 50% fusion of my SI joints.
I have two young children and have decided that I have to do my best to not let it slow me down(mobility wise my spine will eventually become a solid object) as they deserve all I can give them.
That being said does anyone have any experience with this and if so any idea on workouts, nutrition etc?
Many thanks
I am genuinely sorry to hear that, do you have a time line? I don’t know what causes that specifically so off the top of my head I’d just say general movement through all the planes of motion to try to combat the rigidity, as well as strengthening of postural/stabilizer muscles so that you can avoid compensatory movements for as long as possible to avoid other problems developing because of this.
But, and this is a big but- like I said- I don’t know what causes this or if moving around and increasing bloodflow to the area, thereby increasing the nutrients coming into the area, could increase the rate of your condition. Is it a growth or a degeneration?
I’m guessing you are younger, 30-40? So you’ve got a long time ahead of you, and since AS is an inflammatory disease, NSAIDs and DMARDs can be helpful if you experience pain with feeling stiff.
As far as workouts go learning proper posture and the best positions for sleeping (flat, on a stiff mattress)e ngaging in daily exercise, such as: Abdominal and back exercises (to decrease back stiffness and maintain good posture)stretching exercises, swimming exercises
Breathing exercises (in cases where the rib cage is affected). And nutritionally, please say you don’t smoke…if you do then quit, no good for AS. Also, this website is usefull. http://www.spondylitis.org/
[quote]sweatsalot2 wrote:
Hi All
Long time lurker. I’ve been recently diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis(bamboo spine) and have a 50% fusion of my SI joints.
I have two young children and have decided that I have to do my best to not let it slow me down(mobility wise my spine will eventually become a solid object) as they deserve all I can give them.
That being said does anyone have any experience with this and if so any idea on workouts, nutrition etc?
Many thanks[/quote]
Thank you both, good info looks like I have a large amount of reading ahead of me.
Thanks again
"From personally having this condition and being diagnosed a lot earlier than you at the age of 17 (18 now) Don’t get too overwhelmed by it even though it’s hard not too. They’ll supply you with endless amounts of anti inflammatories and expect you to take them for the rest of your life but you can work around it by just strengthening your lumbar (at least from personal experience)
Train like a beast, I squat every day with this condition and sometimes get the pain that I used to feel everyday but strengthen your lower back get check ups often keep nutrition on par and keep living." - The friend of mine sitting next to me.
OP I sent you a PM but i’m not sure it went through (my PMs may be disabled). Can you discuss what other symptoms you have that led you to believe you have AS? I think I have it, although I tested negative for the protein marker. I have been waking up with low back pain for maybe 4 years now, and I have to sleep on top of a pillow in order to relieve the pain. I am very fatigued most of the time, have dry eyes, sensitivity to light in one of them, and some other symptoms to boot. I’m 29 years old.
Thanks for sharing.
I have worked with people who had the disease. One in particular was only sleeping 1-2 hours a night and could barely move (Neck ROM was about 10D in any direction). A combination of full body swedish massage, with NMT in the deep spinal rotators, and an emphasis on Trp’s, along with high velocity spinal adjustments improved mobility and pain levels (level 10 24/7 to a 4-6) greatly. The interesting thing was it wasn’t until dietary factors were addressed that pain levels went down to a constant 2, and 4-6 at their worst.A general anti-inflamation diet was used. Within several months of weekly sessions patient started sleeping more, and continued to make progress until release at about the 6 month mark.
Gentle Yoga and or foam rolling etc along with regular manual therapy of some sort are paramount. Taking natural anti-inflamation supplements like Arthromaxâ?¢ Advanced with UC-IIÃ?® & AprÃ?¨sFlexâ?¢ helps rebuild the joint as well as inhibit the inflamatory factors. Biotest’s Fa3, Flameout and curcumin are also great additions. Additional Krill oil is helpful. It generally takes a couple months to see the results from natural anti-inflamatory supplements, but they do work well.
TO the guy who thinks he might have it, have you researched Psoriatic Arthritis? Similar symptoms, and the low back issue may be a seperate problem worsened by the condition, or you may just have a general sponyloarthopathy. Definately keep a food log for at least several weeks and try to eliminate dietary sources that seem to correlate with higher pain levels. Grains, wheat etc. should be eliminated, lots of veggies and fruits, omega 3’s etc.
As always consult with a qualified physician and Good luck…
Thanks to all
Matthew I’m currently on diclofenac which seems to be helping but leaves me drained and dizzy.
I’ve started on fish oil curcumin bromalain and DHEA seems to be helping as well. What form of yoga would you recommend?
To MB I’m fortunate enough ironically to be an X-ray tech.I originally thought I was renal colic so I jumped up on the CT scanner and got scanned. Shortly after I had my head bone rad read it and the diagnosis was AS along with 2 stones, two cysts and diverticulosis…yeah me !!!
After the preliminary diagnosis I quickly met with a rheumotologist ,who drew blood and did a detailed 2nd screening which confirmed the AS diagnosis.
The oddity of my condition is that nobody in my family has ever suffered from it and it tends to be genetic.
My other symptoms were and are kidney stones, diverticulosis, night sweats, sinusitis, swollen baby fingers and big toes, eye problems, what I always considered to be an arthritic neck(limited motion) and generally a lowered immune system which I wrote off to working in a hospital.
Hope this helps, again thank you all so much for all the help
Please forgive my spelling
Whatever form works for you. Start off with a basic hatha class and tell the instructor what you have going on before the class and go from there Look into boswellia as well, it also inhibits the 5 lox pro inf. Check in with your PC to make sure it’s safe for you… The key with this disease is keeping inflammation down, the joints that are mobile moving and of course staying positive…
Oh and don’t apologize for spelling on an Internet forum… Anyone who cares has way TO much time on THERE handZ. ; )