Premiership footballer visits Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital to help tackle back pain
Premiership footballer Rory Delap, renowned for his remarkable throw-in, visits The Robert Jones Agnes Hunt Sports Injury Clinic today to raise awareness of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a condition that is so often confused with common back pain or sports injuries.
The Stoke City FC player has pledged his support to the Back in Play campaign, to raise awareness of the symptoms of this chronic inflammatory condition that can cause severe pain and loss of mobility in the lower back and affects approximately 1 in 200 men and 1 in 500 women in Britain, typically striking those in their late teens and twenties.
AS is a type of inflammatory arthritis, characterised by lower back pain and stiffness, which is most common in young men and can take as long as 3-11 years to be accurately diagnosed.
The symptoms can be subtle at first but over time disease progression can lead to permanent disability and deformity.
The FA cup finalist believes Back in Play can help raise awareness of this relatively unknown condition and its symptoms. Lending his personal support to the initiative despite not being an AS sufferer, Delap comments: “Most football fans will not have heard about AS, yet the stats show up to 1 in 200 young men will have it.” Reflecting on the importance of early diagnosis 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. The residents of Shropshire and North Wales are very lucky to have such fantastic services right on their doorstep.”
The campaign, supported by the the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) and funded by Pfizer Limited, launched in May 2011 at The RJAH and a number of other hospitals across the UK to mark World AS Day, with a series of local public awareness raising activities. The campaign uses football to communicate the common AS symptoms to the people most likely to suffer – men and women aged 18 to 40 years old. The website (http://uk.back-in-play.com) is home to a gripping online 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 and sports injuries. In addition to watching a throw-in master class from Rory Delap, visitors to the site can find out more information about the condition via patient and doctor interviews and links to patient support groups.
“Due to a lack of awareness about AS and the gradual onset of symptoms this debilitating condition can often go undiagnosed for a number of years,” explained Dr Atheer Al-Ansari, Consultant Rheumatologist from The RJAH, Oswestry. “By increasing awareness of the specific symptoms of AS, we are aiming to reduce the frequent confusion with common back pain and sports injuries and help patients suffering from the condition to get diagnosed and treated earlier. We’re really pleased the Back in Play campaign will draw attention to AS, and the specialist Rheumatology and Sports Injury services we provide here in Oswestry, to encourage more young people to tackle their back pain earlier.”
Although there is no cure for AS, there are lifestyle and medical treatments available to help those diagnosed. “If you suffer from back pain and are worried that it may be AS we recommend that you print off the symptom checklist from the Back in Play website and discuss your symptoms with your GP,” concluded Dr Al-Ansari.
