Ankylosing spondylitis: A common cause of low back pain

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis should be a diagnostic consideration in young patients with back pain, particularly young men. Simple clinical methods can distinguish between back pain due to ankylosing spondylitis and back pain caused by other factors. Early diagnosis allows the clinician to prescribe anti-inflammatory therapy, to identify extra-articular involvement, and to provide counseling on the importance of maintaining proper posture. Perhaps more important, early diagnosis can avoid the costly and unnecessary diagnostic or therapeutic procedures that may be performed if back pain is misdiagnosed as mechanical.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)153-166
Number of pages14
JournalPostgraduate medicine
Volume94
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1993

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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