Lifestyle
With the guidance of your doctor and other healthcare professionals, you can make lifestyle changes that will help you manage your AS:
- Physical activity to maintain strength
- Healthy eating to achieve and maintain a healthy weight
- Develop relaxation and coping skills to maintain a positive outlook
- Helps protect joints by strengthening the muscles around them. Strong muscles and tissues help support joints that have been weakened and damaged by AS.
- Physical activity recommended by your doctor, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist can help reduce pain and tiredness. It also helps you move around and generally makes you feel better.
Being overweight puts an extra burden on your joints (back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet).
If you are overweight, a balanced diet may help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Also, healthy eating contributes to giving you energy for your daily activities.
Relaxation can help reduce pain and help you cope. Try:
- Deep breathing exercises
- Listening to music
- Relaxation tapes
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The general approach to treating AS is to reduce joint inflammation to improve your function and mobility, with the hope of preventing long-term damage to the spine and joints.
Goals
According to international guidelines, AS treatment goals are to:
- Maximize long-term health-related quality of life through control of symptoms and inflammation
- Prevention of progressive structural damage
- Preservation/normalization of function and social participation
The course of your AS may change over time, but this is normal. You may experience remissions and relapses but with proper management should be able to continue to live a productive life.