Back Pain in Your 20s or 30s? It Could Be Ankylosing Spondylitis20–30 की उम्र में कमर दर्द? यह एंकायलोज़िंग स्पॉन्डिलाइटिस हो सकता है

Most back pain comes from muscle strain or posture and gets better in a few weeks. But if you are a young adult with back pain that has lasted more than 3 months, it may be ankylosing spondylitis (AS), an inflammatory arthritis of the spine. On average, AS is diagnosed 7–8 years late because it is mistaken for ordinary back pain.

Signs of inflammatory back pain

• Started before the age of 40, slowly, without an injury
• Stiffness in the morning lasting more than 30 minutes
• Pain wakes you in the second half of the night
• Improves with exercise and movement, gets worse with rest
• Alternating buttock pain (left and right)
• Heel pain, swelling of a knee or ankle, or a red painful eye
• Good response to anti-inflammatory tablets

Tests for AS

The HLA-B27 blood test, ESR/CRP and an MRI of the sacroiliac joints help in early diagnosis. X-rays often look normal in the first years. HLA-B27 positive alone is not a diagnosis; many healthy people carry it.

Treatment works well

• Daily exercise and posture training are the foundation: stretching, swimming, deep-breathing exercises.
• Anti-inflammatory medicines under medical supervision
• Biologic medicines (anti-TNF or IL-17 blockers) for active disease. These can dramatically reduce pain and stiffness.
• Stopping smoking, which worsens spinal fusion