Diagnosing AS

Diagnosing Ankylosing Spondylitis

Diagnosing AS is not always easy or quick. This was the case with me.

Who hasn’t had back pain at one time or other? 
Even I thought at first it was my fault somehow, perhaps I lifted something too heavy? Strained myself in the pool or gym? Was it the way I sat at my desk or my mattress?

For many the pain is temporary and goes away. For me it’s been with me everyday since the age of about 21 and was only diagnosed as Ankylosing Spondylitis in late 2010 at the age of 34. You can read more about my story elsewhere on this site.

So assuming the pain hasn’t gone away following a temporary injury, and you go back again and again to your doctor, in the past you would be referred to a rheumatologist who would then take x-rays to see if extra bone has formed in the spine or sacroiliac joints. Unfortunately for the extra bone to be seen on the x-ray requires a certain amount of bone to have formed over a long period, where as diagnosis at an earlier stage is possible and there are campaigns to have doctors recognise the signs to help early diagnosis and treatment.

If you are sufferring from the list of typical symptoms, that of early morning stiffness that eases after rising, etc then ask your GP for a blood test to check the presence of the HLA B27 gene, which is found to be present in about 95% of AS sufferers.

If the result is positive then then you should be referred to a rhuematology department where they can perform an MRI scan to check your joints.