How is Ankylosing Spondylitis Treated?

While there is no known cure for ankylosing spondylitis, there are existing medications and treatment that are used to alleviate the painful symptoms and relieve the chronic pain.

For the most part, patients that participate in regular exercise and physical therapy while taking a regimen of medication are the patients that recover the quickest from the more severe symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis. However, medical treatment may be required before any vigorous exercise is undertaken to help alleviate symptoms that may prohibit the mobility that exercise and physical rehabilitation requires, such as severe stiffness and chronic pain. Exercising or participating in physical rehabilitation while the inflammation is underway will actually cause increased pain.

Medication is most commonly categorized into three groups, such as anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, indomethacin, phenylbutazone, naproxen, and aspirin. Disease modifying antirheumatic drugs like methotrxate, corticosteroids, sulfasalazine, and cyclosporine are all used as an immunosupressent that reduces the reactions from the body's immune system. In recent studies, tumor necrosis factor-alpha drugs have been shown to actually slow the progression of ankylosing spondylitis throughout the body and have been found to be highly effective at treating all forms of arthritis. Unfortunately, one of the primary drawbacks to these drugs is that it increases the susceptibility of infections in the patient.