Many people have heard of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), but the rather grandly named "Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies" are less well known. "Seronegative" means a lack of positive blood results, particularly absence of high rheumatoid factor which characterises RA. "Spondylo-" means primarily affecting the spine, referring to the predominant site of pain and inflammation in these conditions. And "-arthropathy / -arthritis" means problems with or inflammation of the joints.
Collectively, AS and its related conditions are referred to as "spondyloarthropathies" or "spondyloarthritides" (the plural of "spondyloarthritis"). There are several different types of arthritis of the spine, each with their own distinctive features, but they all generally share the following common symptoms:
- lack of definitive blood test results (seronegative)
- association with the gene HLA-B27.
- inflammation of the following sites:
- spine and sacroiliac joints (the joints that connect the base of the spine to the pelvis). SYMPTOMS: pain and stiffness in the buttocks, back and neck.
- large joints of the legs and arms (less common) e.g. hips, knees, shoulders, elbows. SYMPTOMS: pain, stiffness and swelling in affected joints.
- tendons which connect muscle to bone. This is commonly known as enthesitis. SYMPTOMS: pain in the affected tendon, often the achilles heel and base of foot.
To read more, please visit the Spondylitis Association of America website: http://www.spondylitis.org/about/
Please take the time to learn more about this group of little-known but debilitating conditions, and pass on this info to your friends! And thank you for reading to the end :-)
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