Ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints, causing pain and stiffness and sometimes progressive spinal fusion.

Sacroiliitis: Inflammation of one or both sacroiliac joints, which connect the sacrum to the pelvis. Inflammation in these joints is a common early feature of ankylosing spondylitis.
Magnetic resonance imaging: An imaging method that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of tissues. MRI can reveal active sacroiliac inflammation before structural changes appear on X-rays.
Axial spondyloarthritis: A chronic inflammatory disease family primarily affecting the spine and sacroiliac joints. Ankylosing spondylitis is its radiographic form, with definite sacroiliac damage on X-ray.
Mechanical back pain: Back pain arising from mechanical structures such as muscles, discs, or joints, often affected by movement or loading. Unlike inflammatory back pain, it often worsens with activity and improves with rest.
Enthesitis: Inflammation where a tendon, ligament, or joint capsule attaches to bone. Inflamed attachment sites help explain pain and new bone formation in the disease.
Modified New York criteria: Classification criteria for ankylosing spondylitis combining radiographic sacroiliitis with clinical features. These criteria define the traditional radiographic classification of the disease.
Spondyloarthritis: A family of inflammatory rheumatic diseases sharing features such as enthesitis and association with HLA-B27. This broader disease family includes axial and peripheral forms.
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis: A disorder marked by flowing calcification and ossification along spinal ligaments, usually without sacroiliac erosions. Its spinal bone formation can resemble ankylosing spondylitis but has a different pattern.
Syndesmophyte: A bony growth that forms along the edges of vertebral bodies and may bridge adjacent vertebrae. These spinal bone bridges can progressively restrict movement.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug: A medicine that reduces pain and inflammation by inhibiting cyclooxygenase enzymes. NSAIDs are commonly used first-line medicines for pain and stiffness.

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