M08.15: Juvenile ankylosing spondylitis Pelvic region and thigh

You have Bechterew’s disease.

Bechterew’s disease is a rheumatic disorder. It appeared before you were 16.

A rheumatic disease can affect the entire body. There may be inflammation in the bones, the connective tissue, and the joints. The symptoms can be more and less severe. It is thought that rheumatic diseases are caused by a person’s immune system producing antibodies against their own body. These antibodies attack the body’s own tissue. The tissue can get inflamed and damaged as a result.

With Bechterew’s disease, joints in the spinal column become inflamed.

The spine is made up of the individual vertebrae. Between every 2 vertebrae there is a vertebral disc. At the top and bottom of each there are 2 transverse processes. Along with the processes of adjacent vertebrae, these transverse processes form the small vertebral joints. The vertebral joints connect adjacent vertebrae to one another.

The joints that connect the spinal column to the pelvic bones can also be inflamed. The inflammation in the joints in your spine may make your spine more stiff. As a result, you may no longer be able to move your spine so well.

You also have an inflamed joint in your pelvis or your hip.

The pelvis is made up of different bones. There are 3 bones on each side which each merge to form one large pelvic bone. A joint connects these two large pelvic bones to the sacrum at the back of the body. The sacrum is part of the lower spine. The two pelvic bones plus the sacrum form a bony pelvic ring or girdle. In front, the two pelvic bones are tightly joined to one another by ligaments and cartilage fiber. The hip joints are outside, to the side of the pelvis. They connect the pelvis to the thighbones. The hip joints enable the legs to be moved in different directions.

An inflammation in the joints can cause various symptoms. Typical is a swollen, painful joint. The skin above the joint may also be red. It may also no longer be possible to move the joint as usual.