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Ankylosing
Spondylitis
It is an accepted fact in the
medical literature that an individual who presents with four out of the
following five symptoms, without having any trauma to the lower back, has an
80 percent chance of having the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis:
- onset under age 40 - gradual onset - duration of
low back pain over three months - morning stiffness and better with exercise
Ankylosing spondylitis involves
ankylosing, or hardening, of the
ligaments and
tendons where they attach to
the bone (enthesis).
Patients who gradually
overstretch the ligaments of the low back and the pelvis as a result of
repeated injuries (athletics, work requiring duties that can cause back
injury), can gradually start to experience low back problems in his early 20s
and 30s (onset under age 40). If the overstretched ligaments are not treated
and "tightened", the symptoms may last for months and years (gradual
onset and duration greater than three months).
Patients with ankylosing
spondylitis usually suffer from moderate to severe stiffness and pain in the
low back (morning stiffness), which will improve during the day with
activities (better with exercise). The morning stiffness being caused by the
ligaments loosening during
sleep. The patient will feel better with activity
as the day goes on as the ligaments begin to tighten.
The great fact for the person
with ankylosing spondylitis is that
Prolotherapy helps this condition.
Prolotherapy is very effective in treating ankylosing spondylitis because it
treats the exact structures that are affected by the disease, the
tendons and
the ligaments where they attach to the bone.
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