How does Ankylosing Spondylitis progress?

Whenever one speaks about Ankylosing spondylitis, I’m sure picture of a man with a hunchback & restricted mobility comes to your mind. This famous photograph from the ACR library clearly describes what a patient with Ankylosing spondylitis goes through in his life. Ever wondered what really happens behind the curtain?

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory arthritis affecting the sacroiliac joints (joints beneath the buttocks), vertebral joints & the hips. The joints get inflamed & persistent inflammation in the long run leads to formation of new bone.

The inflammation is responsible for the pain & the bone formation leads to restriction in movements of the spine.

Let us have a look at a simple example to understand this. The spine is similar to multiple matchboxes hung by a set of flexible threads. The flexibility of the threads is responsible for the movements of the spine. However, if you put wax on the threads & let it set, the threads do not bend. This is exactly what happens with Ankylosing Spondylitis. The threads are akin to the ligaments of the vertebrae & the matchboxes to individual vertebrae. Once the threads become hardened by inflammation (wax) the mobility is lost.

The hardened ligaments give the typical tram track or bamboo spine appearance on the X-Ray.

Help us design the iOS Lupus app

It is almost a year since the Mumbai Arthritis Clinic App for android was launched. It has had a phenomenal response with more than 2000 downloads & 50 reviews.

It has been rated the best lupus app by Laptop magazine & an average score of 4.5 out of 5 on google play.

We would like to help more lupies with the app & are all set to launch an iOS version soon.
The app is designed around you & would like to have your suggestions for inclusion in the iOS version.

Have a quick look at the previous blogpost about the features of the android app.
Please help us design a better app for iOS.

It would have all the features included in the android app –
1) Help you manage appointments better.
2) Keep a track of your Lupus activity
3) Store your prescription & set medicine reminders
3) Make a note of questions you want to ask your Rheumatologist.
4) Store all the important snaps (eg. a rash that you have) for showing it to your Rheumatologist later.
5) A Lupus eBook.
6) Mail your Rheumatologist.

However, the best Lupus app can only be designed if I know what you want from it.
Kindly post your suggestions (however silly, weird they may sound) so that they can be incorporated in the app.

Looking forward to your suggestions for inclusion in the iOS app…
You may also tweet your suggestions using the hashtag #lupusiOS