Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Unrelated injury and flare

Hi,

I’m new here. I am grateful this community exists. I was diagnosed with undifferentiated spondyloarthritis about two years ago and have browsed this forum regularly since diagnosis. My symptoms presented peripherally, with pain in my fingers, hands, wrists, toes, and feet. Since then, I have had some pain in my spine, though my symptoms continue to be worst peripherally. I am 34/F and have a young child. I am still coming to terms with what this diagnosis means,

I was in the worst flare I’ve had since being diagnosed a few weeks ago, and my rheumatologist put me on a prednisone taper to see if we could knock the inflammation out. Shortly after starting the prednisone, I unfortunately fell on some ice. I hit my head and had to have staples to close a laceration in my scalp. I have a concussion and am gradually recovering. I fell a couple of weeks ago.


After falling, my flare seemed to get much worse and I was in a lot of arthritis pain as well as the pain from the fall. I wonder if anyone has experience with an unrelated injury sending a flare into a tailspin like this, or if anyone knows of research I can read about how this concurrent flare and concussion might interact? I see my doctor next week and want to have a better grasp on what’s happening before talking to her,

Many thanks,

Bugaboo

Welcome to the SAA. Sorry you had to find us, but you will be glad that you did....


Yes, you are not alone with having an injury making your disease worst. Back in very late November I took a spill down some stairs. Week later the spasms in my lower back were so intense that my wife had to take me to the ER. Regiment of strong pain meds for a day brought the issue back down to manageable.

Explain to your Dr what transpired and how you believe it has impacted your disease.

yikes, sorry to hear about that fall!

I had a fall recently, nothing as severe as yours, but didn't notice an uptick on AS. however, I do find that if I'm less active than usual, I am much more likely to have increased AS flare. so, if you are like me, the fall may have made it impossible for you to be your usual active self, and that could lead to the uptick in AS activity. Hope that makes sense.

Wishing you a quick recovery from the fall and reduced AS activity.

kindest,
Rich

Ken,

Thanks for your story! I don’t know how much pain is normal from a fall, but this sure feels like arthritis pain layered on top of soreness. Now that the prednisone taper is done, I’m hoping the doctor will try something else.

B

Rich,

That is an excellent point. With the dizziness from the concussion, I have been much more sedentary. Now that the dizziness is gone I should get back to my exercise classes.

Thanks for the well wishes!

B