Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Is it AS or not?

Hi,
My wife (who has AS) has been doing great on the NSD since fall, despite a short bout with costochronitis that went away with antibiotics.

In the last several days, she has been getting pain in the middle of her spine, in about a 2-inch square area, in the afternoon. It would be gone when she got up in the morning, but would come back each afternoon.

Yesterday's pain hasn't gone away, and she had to take Darvacet for pain. She had to call off work today.

Any thoughts, or ideas? Is this AS related? What should she do?
Adam

Curious what she is eating in the morning? When I was first on diet and was out of pain, I would trial foods for breakfast or lunch and if I ate something wrong got the mid/low back pain... by time went home from work OK, morning OK... and then again in the afternoon.

Once I found culprit to be my breakfast sausages I had changed... new brand. Another item was sunflower seeds... first 1-2 days I tolerated some as a snack in morning... but must have built up over time.

Just my thoughts.

Tim

Hi Adam,

AS is a mysterious disease. It hits here, and then it hits there. The pain moves around from flare to flare -- sometimes even from day to day, and sometimes even in the course of a day. It can be your right toe, your left shoulder, and your lumbar (lower) spine one flare, and then the next flare it might be your cervical (neck) spine, your hips (SI joints) and heel. So, yes, a 2 inch area of pain in the middle of the spine can be and is AS -- in our cases.

Paula

I have been experiencing the same kind of pain in the middle of my spine lately. When I wake up in the morning the pain is gone. I always feel best in the morning, and deteriorate as the days goes on. I sometimes get pain and inflammation in areas that I never did before. However, when I think back to the pain I was in, I believe those inflammations did exist, but they were masked by more painful inflammations. I also know that the pain in the middle of my back is caused by something I eat. I have not been cautious lately, and as a result I have been experiencing some unusual inflammation. I am going to begin a much stricter diet this weekend to see if I can eliminate the pain.

auk, aloha

i had for several/many year a little spot of pain...about a two/three inch long area right in the lower middle
of my back...not bad in am but progressively worser as the day went on...but it wasn't ever the worst of the
things that were going on...just a little addition...supplemental to the menu...

i had an ulcer and lost a third of my body weight, all my strength and stamina...and the spondy monster kind of
went into scram mode cause i was so weak...

someone at somepoint sent me for physical therapy...and wouldn't you know, the therapist in her inventory
of my back said, ' oh, does this area bother you ( the little 3 " area ) ? you've developed scoliosis.' pcp and rheumy missed it.
it's a little concave curve, new rheumy explained it probably happened when my si was obliterated...xrays will see it,
if they look, but an actual hands on physical inventory notch by notch tells a lot.

oh, and i am on enbrel now...'that' pain is still there.
wishing you the best
aB

That's pretty typical AS. It's like fruit of the month club. Always something different!
Whenever I slouch in my chair for any length of time, in front of the computer, I get a pain under my left shoulder blade towards the spine that forms an actual knot. If I don't sit up straight, get up and walk around, or get up and stretch, it gets worse and worse and starts spreading upwards towards my entire left shoulder and my neck, and it will end up in a headache.
It's actually caused by bone spurs in my cervical spine pinching nerves in my shoulders and upper back muscles. When I slouch, I end up cocking my head and neck slightly more forward and curving my upper back, which is REALLY bad for me.
If it's occuring at the same time every day, that's good in a way because it will be easier to track down the culprit. I don't know what your wife does at work, but my first suspicion would be, if it is a desk job, her chair position relative to whatever else she is doing. Looking down with the neck bent for any length of time can be a killer for us. Slouching backwards or forward also puts a huge strain on some areas. People forget how much their heads weigh! She may have to raise or lower something, and get a different chair, and/or put her feet up on a little rise, to be able to keep her body in what sort of alignment it needs to be comfortable. Also, getting up regularly and stretching or doing specific PT exercises designed for her, can really help with this.
Once the nerves are impinged, and the muscles start one of those spasm parties, it may take a few days to get rid of it. Any sort of conditioning program she can do to keep the spine aligned and the surrounding muscles more toned will help.
In the summer I will go to the pool on a hot day and just float on my back for awhile, and it always fascinates me how being totally suspended in warmish water for awhile will get rid of it. Can you visit a hot tub?

Tim,

I asked, but she said she had been having small amounts of different things different days. She has been very careful, but we'll remember what you said about breakfast, and be extra careful, especially for the next several days.
Adam

Thanks for the info about posture and alignment. We've been so focussed on food that we haven't thought about what you've suggested. I can see a stool that she uses at work (she's a teacher) could be a guilty contributor. The dermatologist removed something from the back of her leg and told her to not stand for a month. Thanks for pointing us in this direction.

Adam

How we wish it were simple to diagnose from the distance, we'd never see a doctor.
Here's a guess.
A pain or a discomfort or just an irritating niggle occurs in the morning. The body cringes, steers away from it, ignores it or pretends it will go away, but basically distorts in some way to either accomodate or try to defy it.
This is referred via some abnormal posture to weaker unused muscle or tendon and comes out as stress somewhere else.
While asleep or in lower-key afternoon/evening activity it eases away.
How to avoid it?
Conscious posture, better posture, active posture and
lots and lots of exercise, stretches, dance and activity.
If doing repetitive or other activity already, the new pattern adopted (due to the irritation) may be stressful. Something like carrying a child on your hip all day could be a factor, or playing golf for that matter.
Please ignore me if i am way off the mark.

oops, rushed through, missed Wind_rider post...

I'll tell my wife you second Wind rider's motion!
Thanks for responding.
Adam