Surgical therapy
For the success of the above mentioned rheumatism orthopedic interventions an intensive aftercare is essential. The post-treatment regime is usually determined by the surgeon. On the one hand, this includes regular wound checks and dressing changes, on the other hand, depending on the intervention, a special after-treatment in the form of physiotherapeutic exercise treatment (physiotherapy) possibly using aids (e.g. movement splints, orthoses or crutches). After joint stiffening surgery, a six-week immobilization with a plaster cast is usually necessary. After stiffening surgery in the spine area, a corset must often be worn for a longer period of time (8-12 weeks).
Course and prognosis
The onset and course of ankylosing spondylitis are gradual, with the greatest loss of function and damage probably occurring in the first 10 years of the disease. The patients’ main complaints regarding quality of life are stiffness, pain, fatigue and poor sleep. Factors that make a rather severe course of the disease likely are Bekhterev’s disease affects patients at a relatively young age, which means that the often considerable burden of disease lasts for a long time. The therapeutic options for Bekhterev’s disease have been quite limited so far, but the relatively new TNF-alpha inhibitors are expected to improve this situation significantly.
- An involvement of the hip joint and knee joint
- An increased blood sedimentation rate (>30mm in the 1st hour)
- A low effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- A limitation of lumbar spine mobility
- An inflammation of the small finger and toe joints
- Oligoarthritis (simultaneous inflammation of many joints)
- The disease begins before the age of 16.