Ankylosing spondylitis

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

hello dear friends…

good to “see you” all. hope you are all in fine health and spirits.
perhaps someone here may be able to help me…:slight_smile:

i suffer from the above disease.i now have a slight stoop ,curvature of the upper spine,that responds to hard exercise,if i decided to stop my daily exercise programs it would get MUCH worse VERY quickly.

i also have reduced chest expansion due to fusion in ribs.this too also responds somewhat to some breathing exercise.due to my illness most of my breathing is now focused in/at my lower stomach level.

dear friends i am looking for some exercises that will address these issues.
one set of exercises for my kyphosis (slight curve in upper spine ) and another for my poor breathing,i would like to be able to expand my chest expansion range if i can.

i am long enough in the tooth to understand that i must approach any exercise with due care respect and caution

love light and peace
John

#2

Hi John! Where do you live? I see that you know enough about your disease to approach this the right way, but I would recommend seeking out a yoga therapist to give you the right exercises. It would be better to have someone who can physically see where you are now and track your progress over time to make sure the practice is working for you. I have a few relatives with this and I see how frustrating this can be. A qualified therapist is definitely your best option.

Now, if that isn’t your cup of tea at all… more information would help all of us help you. What kind of exercises do you do now that seem to help? How old are you? Do you have any other health issues? Do you know if the AS naturally progressed, or did it onset after any type of accident or illness? How long have you had this problem?

#3

hi i am in Scotland.my exercises include some of the following…*i have nothing specific for my chest exercises…onset in my mid 20s.the disease was mild until my 50s when it got a little more active which coincided with my inactivity.i think my father had a mild form of it.other than the AS i think i am in good shape for 56

thanks for your interest Suryadaya…some of your family have this condition?

*i intended to show you my AS exercise prog but this site will not accept them at this point.basic simple AS exercises as seen on NASS

#4

Vishnu -

My uncle has had it now for the last decade or so; onset after a hip injury that left him immobilized for a while. Another older relative of mine had the same issue, and my dad is convinced that he must have it too but it’s never been diagnosed.

I might be able to draw up something simple which will help with your breathing. What do you feel your range of motion is like in the shoulders and neck? Do you have soreness/pain/tightness when you try to reach in certain directions? What about looking up and down or to the sides? How do your shoulders feel? If you try to breath in the thoracic cage, do you have any pain, or does it just not expand at all?

#5

Also, not sure where you are living in Scotland, but I might recommend this woman:

http:www.yogaforyou-edinburgh.co.uk

She has good therapy training and works with people who have specific issues. She has regular classes and also does private lessons to design specific home courses.

#6

thanks you Suryadaya
my shoulders are fine,no restrictions there.my neck however has poor lateral movement and restricted forward/backward movement.
no pain when i try thoracic breathing,there is some expansion but again it is limited.
in my original post i intended to ask for advice regarding the neck

i am afraid i will have to stick to home exercises for the time being as travelling can be a little painful when i am in the middle of “flare ups”

John

#7

Hello John,

I also have AS (I’m 34 year old). What helps me most with upper/middle back problem is back bends, or what is also called heart opening exercises. At the beginning very very gentle.

By the way, have you ever tried changing your diet? I tried all sorts of medication and by chance discovered that eating starch can aggravate AS and general inflammation. I stopped eating starch 1.5 years ago and my life has completely changed. I stopped all meds too. There’s evidence that this works. My rheumatologist had never heard of it. Several other people in my family also have AS and this has helped them a lot. You can search for KickAS on the web, it explains the research around this.

I wish you all the best!

#8

Abc,thanks friend
i am a member of Kickas and the new UK site ASRA.i have done some research into the low/no starch diet and i am aware that it works for some and not others.it would also appear that the jury is out on whether or not this prog works,the rheumys and docs dont care for it at all.

thing is Abc i eat very little starch anyways as it upsets my stomach.i probably have IBS now,common in AS sufferers

i just managed to stop all meds too :slight_smile:

heart opening exercises you say? i will give that a look
thanks Abc.hope the strach prog continues to work for you

#9

Hello Vishnu,

I just saw today by chance a video on yogajournal designed to improve posture in the upper back. So as I can’t post a link, it’s on the yogajournal website, under office yoga, day 15. Maybe that’s too basic for you, I don’t know.
One thing that helps me is to lie on my back (like corpse pose) and put either a block or bolster under my shoulder blades (down along my back). It’s a bit like a back bend but I can stay like that for a few minutes and it helps just that spot that tends to hurt and curve.
I’m really glad to hear that you are off the meds too!
All the best
Alex

#10

Abc
found your vid thanks.nothing is too basic for me, i am starting from scratch
will use in my daily routine.thanks again :slight_smile:

#11

Hmmm i wonder is there an exercise one can do for chest expansion whilst out walking?

does anyone have a good healthy in/out breath ratio for slow jogging?