Football Stars Unite to Tackle Back Pain

Rome, June 8, 2010 (ots/PRNewswire) - UK Premiership footballer Rory
Delap, renowned for his devastating throw-in, has joined forces with
a number of football heroes across Europe to support 'Back in Play',
a European wide campaign to reach young men and women and raise
awareness of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a poorly understood
condition which can affect the lower back.

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AS is a type of inflammatory arthritis, characterised by low back
pain and stiffness, which is most common in young men.(1,2) The
symptoms can be subtle and are often overlooked or confused with
common back pain or sports injuries meaning it can take as long as
3-11 years to be accurately diagnosed.(3)

The campaign, supported by the Ankylosing Spondylitis
International Federation (ASIF,) kicks off today with the launch of
the Back in Play website, http://www.back-in-play.com. The site is
home to an addictive football game with a competitive European
league, which tests a player's throw-in skills whilst highlighting
the symptoms of AS that can differentiate it from other back pain.
In addition to watching a throw-in master class from Rory Delap,
visitors to the site can review the AS symptom checklist compiled by
ASIF, find out more information about the condition via patient and
doctor interviews and links to patient support groups.

The Stoke City player, whose flexibility and back strength is key
to his enviable skill, believes Back in Play can help raise awareness
of this relatively unknown condition and its symptoms. Lending his
personal support to the initiative, Delap comments: "Most football
fans will not have heard about AS, yet the stats show up to 1 in 200
will have it."Reflecting on the importance of early diagnosis and
treatment he continues: "It is understandable that some of the
symptoms like lower back pain are often written off as a sports
injury or bad posture, however there are some key subtleties such as
the pain getting better with exercise and painful, red eyes, that can
indicate AS. Test your throw-in skills with the game and check out
the symptoms at the same time."

Most commonly, but not exclusively found in young men, AS
symptoms typically start in the late teens and early twenties,
causing severe, chronic pain and discomfort.(1,4) "A lack of
awareness of the condition and the gradual onset of symptoms means
that it can take years for sufferers to get an accurate diagnosis, I
believe 15 years in my own case," said Seoirse Smith, President of
the Ankylosing Spondylitis International Federation (ASIF). "I know
from personal experience that the earlier the condition is diagnosed
the better the outcome for the patient. If AS is not correctly
diagnosed or treated, over many years, the spine can become rigid as
it may fuse together, and fixed in a bent position making it
increasingly difficult to move around freely and undertake day-to-day
activities with ease."

Although there is no cure for AS, Professor Désirée van der
Heijde, from the Department of Rheumatology at the Leiden University
Medical Center in Leiden, The Netherlands, says patients can be
managed effectively. "There are a number of treatment options
available to help reduce the pain and stiffness experienced by
sufferers, from traditional anti-inflammatory drugs which are usually
the first line of treatment, to the newer biologics." She concluded,
"In addition to taking medication, maintaining a good posture and a
regular exercise routine has also been proved to be beneficial."

About AS

The first symptom people with AS typically experience is a dull
pain in the lower back that comes on gradually over time. The pain is
generally felt deep in the buttock and/or in the lower back (lumbar)
regions and is accompanied by morning joint stiffness in the same
area that lasts for a few hours.(1) These symptoms can improve with
exercise, however return when at rest. The pain becomes persistent
and is usually worse at night disturbing sleep.(1)

AS varies between individuals in the way it progresses and
symptoms will differ in severity, however most patients will
experience flare-ups of inflammation periodically.(2) Disease
progression can lead to fusion of the spine; causing loss of mobility
and loss of function making it increasingly difficult for the
individual to move freely and carry out their usual daily
activities.(1,3,4)

Although AS is a form of arthritis which primarily affects the
spine, other joints and organs of the body can also be affected such
as the hips, shoulders, knees, eyes, lungs, bowel, skin and heart.(4)
One key symptom which can help differentiate AS from other
conditions is uveitis an inflammation of part of the iris within the
eye; and conjunctivitis which causes red, gritty and painful eyes.(4)

In Europe it is thought that approximately 1 in 200 people suffer
from AS.(5,6,7) However, the exact prevalence of AS is not known due
to wide geographical variations seen within the population;
prevalence estimates range from 0.1 to 1.4 per cent.(3,5)

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Pfizer created and funded Back in Play. Back in Play is supported
by the Ankylosing Spondylitis International Federation (ASIF) which
was established in 1988 with the core premise that the better
informed the patient, the better the outcome for them. ASIF now has
member societies from 26 countries including many across Europe.

http://www.asif.rheumanet.org

To play the game and find out more information on the campaign,
ankylosing spondylitis and the treatments available, visit
http://www.back-in-play.com

References

1. Sieper J. et al. Ankylosing spondylitis: an overview. Ann
Rheum Dis. 2002;61(Suppl III):iii8-iii18

2. Living with AS website. http://www.livingwith.co.uk/Portals/11
/as/ZENB2547e%20-%20Patients%20Guide%20 to%20AS.pdf. Last accessed
March 2010

3. Elyan M, Khan MA. Diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis. Rheum.
2006:33 (Suppl 78):12-23

4. National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society. Guidebook for
`Patients: A Positive Response to Ankylosing Spondylitis. March 2007

5. Sieper J, Braun J. (2009) Clinician's Manual on Ankylosing
Spondylitis, London: Current Medicine Group

6. Braun J. et al. Ankylosing spondylitis. Lancet 2007;
369:1379-90

7. Akkoc N, Khan MA. Overestimation of the prevalence of
ankylosing spondylitis in the Berlin study: comment on the Braun
article by Braun et al (letter). Arthritis Rheum 2005;52:4048-9

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