Understanding Ankylosing Spondylitis: Impact on the Body and How to Manage

Ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis which causes inflammation, pain, and stiffness primarily in the spine. Now let's understand what are the root causes of ankylosing spondylitis. Genetic factors. Generally, ankylosing spondylitis families may run, and HLA-B27 gene is strongly associated with AS. Second reason can be immune system dysregulation. AS It is an autoimmune condition. So we all know our own body tissues are getting attacked. In ankylosing spondylitis, your joints and spine are the ones which get attacked. When we look at it through functional medicine lens, we try to find infections which are the cause in these patients, environmental toxins, and we work to modulate the immune system through diet, lifestyle changes, and targeted supplements. In AS patients, what I've generally seen is there is a lot of microbiome microbiome imbalance, which means that the balance of bacteria, fungus, parasites, and virus is all disrupted, and that leads to autoimmunity, which is AS here. There are other environmental triggers such as toxic heavy metals. They can also lead to AS, and of course, in patients who have lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, they— that can also lead to autoimmunity and further AS. Now what is it that we can do for these patients? Look, let's look at some solutions. Diet is where everything starts from in functional medicine. Anti-inflammatory diet, which means have more colored vegetables, have healthy fats, have good omega-3 fats like from fish, from flaxseeds, from chia seeds, have lean proteins and avoid processed foods. Avoid refined sugars completely and intake of inflammatory fats should be very, very, very minimal, which means your trans fats and omega-6 fats. Second thing we need to do is gut health optimization. We all understand gut health and autoimmune disease are completely connected. So using probiotic-rich foods like sauerkraut, kefir, curd, or taking probiotic supplements, avoiding inflammatory foods that can disrupt gut health, and addressing gut dysbiosis by taking care of the infections and very, very targeted interventions can be very, very useful. Stress management, regular exercise, and supplements like curcumin, ginger, boswellia, vitamin D, chondroitin, D-glucosamine are important, and they can play a very, very important role if you or your loved ones have ankylosing spondylitis. More detailed testing such as GI map, oxidative acid test, and hormone testing can also help you heal faster. The few simple tips which an ankylosing spondylitis patient should remember: 1, always maintain good posture. Second, stay active Exercise is very, very important. Proper rest and managing stress. You can also try heat and cold therapy when you are feeling your muscles are not relaxed and you have pain or discomfort. Always make sure that you maintain a healthy weight. And remember, ankylosing spondylitis can be healed, can be cured by root cause-based