Articles

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and degenerative disc disease are both illnesses of the spine that share many of the same painful symptoms. Sometimes it is even hard for doctors to tell...

I can happily say that since I started to take biologics for my AxSpA, I get less flares. These were debilitating, creating swelling in my feet and knee, making each...

Living with a chronic illness often feels like managing a war between my body and the world around me — a world that was simply not built for the chronically...

I had a pretty terrible March 2021. My father went into emergency overnight surgery after a routine operation that went badly. He thought he was going to die, and I...

It’s 4am and my alarm clock goes off. It’s done this 3 days in a row now. I drag myself out of bed, pour a cup of coffee and drink...

I wish to share a bit about my journey with hip replacements. Not to scare people that this will happen when you have AS, but to take away the fear...

Having children was never my top priority in life. Being a teenager, talking with my girlfriends about life plans, we had different views. Most of them wanted kids for sure...

Editor's note: Please speak with your doctor before starting any new exercise program. A foam roller is a wonderful piece of exercise equipment that can be used in multiple ways...

It’s one of those days, one of those days where the pain and fatigue to take over. Standing is too difficult. The fatigue makes me dizzy and the pain, well it’s...

There are times when life with arthritis feels more like a trip to a shabby little haunted house than I'd like to admit. You know the kind I mean. They...

Are you something of a curmudgeon? A chipper person hopes you'll say something like, "Dawn, how can you even ask that? I'm an eternal optimist shooting hearts from my eyes...

The 2020 holidays really affected me negatively, worse than years prior. Family at the house (albeit only 5 of us), over-spending, cooking larger meals, and ingesting sugar, salt, and alcohol...

Before we knew they were called "flare-ups," I knew my husband, Keegan, was experiencing something like I'd never seen before. Except for maybe seeing a Youtube clip of a woman...

Unlike some of my peers with ankylosing spondylitis, my first scan showed undeniable evidence of the disease. Bilateral inflammation and erosion in my sacroiliac joints were found, and a positive...

Finding a restful night sleep with axial spondyloarthritis can be so hard. Between painsomnia, finding a comfortable position, and worrying about your next flare, drifting into dreamland can feel downright...

Axial spondyloarthritis has taken a lot from all of us who have it. The life we thought we were going to have, the hobbies or passions we have had to...

I’m in a somewhat unique position as an ankylosing spondylitis patient. Not only am I a patient, but I’m also a chronic illness advocate and a medical writer. These realities...

One of the hardest things about living with a chronic illness, particularly a degenerative one, is that you are always grieving for your older selves. As the years go by...

It's funny how chronic illness works. It really forces you into the present moment, in a weird way. When you're good and pain-free (or at least having minimal pain) you...

Dear Steff’s AS, Hi, it’s me, Steff. I want to write you a letter to air out both my grievances and my thank you’s. Sometimes I think you were sent...