Lower back pain may be a sign of an incurable condition.

Lower back pain may indicate an intractable condition. Doctors have urged patients to visit their GP.

Adult back pain is a very common problem. Some people suffer from it for many years.

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NINTCHDBPICT000304043242Credit: Alamy

According to CreakyJoints, around six percent of chronic pain sufferers will be diagnosed with axial spondyloarthritis or axial SPA.

It’s estimated one in 200 adults in the UK have axial SpA.

According to the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society charity (NASS), there is a wide lack of awareness.

This condition is more common in the late teens or early 20s, but it can take as long as 8.5 years to diagnose.

If left untreated, it can lead to the vertebrae of the spine fusion, which can make everyday activities such as putting on socks too painful.

In severe cases, new bone may form.

It is common for people to feel the pain in their 20s when they are starting relationships and building a career. Then, they find themselves struggling with the symptoms.

Dr Raj SenguptaConsultant rheumatologist, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (Bath).

Axial SpA can also be branded “just arthritis”As patients come to terms and accept the fact that they have an incurable or progressive disease, their impact is immense.

Treatment focuses on easing patients’ pain, rather than stopping the disease progressing.

Dr Raj Sengupta, a physician advisor NASSThe author told the Daily Mail: “It’s heartbreaking as a rheumatologist to see patients in a clinic who have experienced back pain for years and the cause has been put down to sports injuries or work.

“I’ll see up to five of these patients a week.

“The pain often first occurs when someone is in their 20s, when they are building relationships and a career, and they are left struggling with symptoms. This may lead to mental health problems, as well as more damage to their spine.”

The condition affects the bones of the spine and causes pain in the lower back as well as the hips.

Another common feature is buttock pain, similar to sciatica. This can lead to misdiagnosis.

Do you feel back pain?

Everybody experiences back pain at some point in their lives.

If you experience back pain, you might be able to have axial SPA.

  • Starts before age 45
  • It lasts at least 3 months (can be extended).
  • Nights are worse, usually in the second half.
  • Exercise and activity improve, while resting less effectively can cause a decline
  • Reacts well to non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like naproxen, ibuprofen or aspirin
  • It often happens with “alternating buttock pain”
  • Often occurs with limited spinal flexibility, which can become so severe that people can’t do day-to-day activities

Dr Sengupta, also a consultant rheumatologist at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath, said: “With axial SpA the main joints involved are the sacroiliac joints, which are over the top of the buttocks, and it’s inflammation in these joints that is one of the key features.

“The buttock pain radiates from the joints and can alternate from one side to the other — this is a classic sign of axial SpA — or just stay on one or both sides.

“The problem with buttock pain is that it’s often confused with sciatica, a common condition caused by irritation of one of the two sciatic nerves that come out of the spinal cord.

“Sciatica causes pain and tingling in the buttock and radiates down the leg to the feet, but with axial SpA, if you get the buttock pain, it won’t radiate right the way down the leg and past the knee.

“Some people are told they have sciatica when they actually have inflammation of the sacroiliac joints caused by axial SpA.”

There are two types of Axial SpA: non-radiographic and ankylosing.

The main difference is that non-radiographic spondylitis tends to be the early stage of the disease, and can’t be seen on an X-ray.

It can take many years for a diagnosis to be made. There is not visible damage on Xrays until the condition has become ankylosing.

Non-radiographic spondylitis can be diagnosed early if there is visible inflammation on an MRI.

A blood test can be used to determine if you have high levels of inflammatory markers or HLA-B27 (a gene that is found in approximately 80 percent of patients with axial SpA).

From chronic back pain to poor posture, here are the facts about psoas.

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