Up to 10 years for the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis – breaking latest news

It causes inflammation of the spine and affects more men between 20 and 30 years of age: ankylosing spondylitis (Sa), a disabling rheumatological disease, little known and often mistaken for a simple back pain. It can take even 8-10 years from the onset of symptoms to diagnose the pathology, associated with a disability comparable to that of rheumatoid arthritis, so much so that one in 3 patients is forced to leave work. From the chronic inflammatory disease which, if not treated adequately, can lead to a progressive reduction in the spinal column’s ability to move, up to the so-called bamboo cane conformation, was discussed at the event Don’t turn your back on it – know and communicate ankylosing spondylitis, medium tutorial organized in Milan by AbbVie to present the second edition of the information and awareness campaign “Don’t Turn Your Back On It”, an international initiative developed by AbbVie in collaboration with patient associations and specialists from all over the world Europe. In Italy, the campaign conducted in collaboration with the national association of rheumatic patients Anmar Onlus. The site www.nonvoltarglilaschiena.it provides detailed information on the different types of back pain and their causes. Anyone suffering from back pain for more than 3 months is invited to take a short online test – validated by experts – to check the symptoms, learn more about the possible causes and learn more about the topic by talking to your doctor.

Back pain is a very common pathology – explained Francesco Ciccia, full professor of Rheumatology at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli – but when the pain lasts for more than 3 months, then we speak of chronic back pain. Lumbosacral pains, typically nocturnal and present at rest or upon awakening and which ease with movement, these are alarm bells that require a specialist rheumatological evaluation. In fact, an early diagnosis is essential for an adequate treatment that prevents the onset of serious joint damage with a high disabling impact. Back pain is not a diagnosis, a symptom that must be promptly diagnosed and treated.

Ankylosing spondylitis especially affects young adults at the height of their work and social activity – underlined Silvia Tonolo, president of Anmar – Boys who will have to live with the disease for life. The real problem is the diagnostic – and consequently therapeutic – delay which complicates the management of such a disabling disease. Awareness campaigns like this one are essential in educating people about the symptoms and pain associated with chronic inflammatory back pain. Equally important are the figures of the general practitioner who, in the presence of these symptoms, can send the patient directly to the rheumatologist specialist, and of the services pharmacist, who can intercept patients in the earliest stages and advise them to consult the rheumatologist in case of back pain that has lasted for several months, thus avoiding a diagnostic odyssey between different specialists before arriving at the right one.

The “Don’t turn your back” campaign aims to promote correct information and reduce the diagnosis time for all those people who suffer from inflammatory back pain and are not yet aware of it, accelerating the path towards a better quality of life, without pain underlined Annalisa Iezzi, Medical Director of AbbVie, who promoted the initiative.