How is it different from ordinary back pain?
Ankylosing spondylitis causes inflammatory back pain: stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes in the morning that improves with exercise and worsens with rest. People may wake in the second half of the night with pain and have buttock or heel pain or eye inflammation (uveitis). That's the opposite of a herniated disc. Diagnosis is often delayed by years, so back pain lasting over 3 months that started before 45 deserves a rheumatology referral (Sieper & Poddubnyy, 2017).
How is it treated?
Daily stretching and exercise such as swimming plus NSAIDs are first-line. If symptoms persist, TNF inhibitors or IL-17 inhibitors can control inflammation and may slow spinal fusion. Smoking speeds progression. Compare rheumatoid arthritis.
This article is general health information and is not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment. If symptoms persist, see a doctor.
FAQ
- If I'm HLA-B27 positive, do I have AS?
- Not necessarily—many healthy people carry it; diagnosis combines symptoms and imaging.
- Is it hereditary?
- Family history raises risk, but most children of patients don't develop it.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-25
References
- Sieper, J., & Poddubnyy, D. (2017). Axial spondyloarthritis. The Lancet, 390(10089), 73–84.