November 18, 2014

Are you ever grateful for your spine, its uprightness, its support, its design? If you don’t think about it, you’re not alone. Like so many things in our daily Groton lives, we take our spines for granted…until there is pain or difficulty. True? True.

Well, the spine’s uprightness allows us humans to wander around our Groton worlds with ease: eyes forward, head up, feet one step in front of the other. The gentle curves balance us well. Normal. This normal state is how most Groton folks exist thankfully. Conversely, a few Groton people find themselves with back pain conditions that are abnormal and actually cause pain. One such condition is ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a condition Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office finds to be quite responsive to Groton chiropractic care. But first, more about AS and the latest findings.

Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory rheumatic disease mainly affecting the axial skeleton. Inflammation of the spine and a strong genetic association with the HLA-B27 antigen is documented. (1) AS makes the spine rigid and inflexible over time. The bones actually fuse together, making the spine curve forward and walking difficult. Moreover, a spine with AS may develop osteoporosis which increases the risk of spinal fracture. (2) Your Groton back pain specialist at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office knows well of osteoporosis, its fracture risk and management, and can manage this added layer of risk due to AS too.

Now, medical literature points out that AS patients have a 5-fold higher risk of clinical spine fracture and a 35% increased risk of non-vertebral fracture. This extra risk peaks early, in the first 2 and a half years of AS disease. It is recommended that AS patients be assessed for fracture risk early after their AS diagnosis. (3) Trust Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office to do this for you or your loved one with AS.

Since AS usually runs its course over several years, researchers and clinicians like your Groton chiropractor at Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office wonder what factors lead ankylosing spondylitis patients to develop syndesmophytes, those calcified ligaments that look like they flow down the bones of the AS spine, fusing them together. Researchers found that older age, longer disease duration, severe sacroiliitis (inflammation of one or both of the sacroiliac joints), the baseline presence of syndesmophytes, and elevated levels of C-reactive protein are predictors of more syndesmophytes. (4) Having a clinician like your Groton chiropractor who understands this condition can really help contain its effects and maintain mobility in your spine as AS progresses.

So contact Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office for a consultation about your ankylosing spondylilitis. Entrust your spine (or your loved one's) to the capable hands of Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office and the gentle stretching treatment of Cox Technic to manage all your spinal conditions. Be grateful for your spine, and treat it to chiropractic care.

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