Ankylosing Spondylitis Diagnosis Quiz
Questions: 15 · 10 minutes
1. What is your experience with psoriasis or psoriasis-like skin and nail changes?
I have no known psoriasis or recurring unexplained skin or nail changes.
I occasionally notice an unexplained flaky patch or mild nail pitting.
Recurring skin or nail changes have led a clinician to suspect psoriasis.
A qualified healthcare professional has diagnosed me with psoriasis.
2. Which statement best describes your bowel health?
I do not have recurring unexplained diarrhea, abdominal pain, or blood in my stool.
I have had brief digestive episodes with a likely temporary cause that resolved.
I experience recurring unexplained diarrhea or abdominal pain that has not been fully assessed.
I have diagnosed Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, or I currently have persistent bloody diarrhea.
3. When you try to stand fully upright after sitting or bending, which experience is closest to yours?
I straighten normally without lingering stiffness.
I am briefly stiff after staying in one position for a long time.
I often need several movements or stretches before I can straighten comfortably.
I regularly cannot straighten fully or have noticed a persistent stooped posture.
4. When lower-back or buttock pain is present, what usually happens with movement and rest?
I do not experience this pain.
Rest usually helps more than movement does.
Neither rest nor movement makes a consistent difference.
Gentle movement tends to help, while prolonged rest tends to make it worse.
5. What do you notice when taking a deep breath, yawning, or stretching your chest?
My rib cage expands without unusual pain or tightness.
I occasionally notice mild tightness after exertion or prolonged sitting.
I repeatedly notice unexplained tightness or discomfort around the ribs or upper back.
Chest-wall or upper-back restriction regularly prevents a comfortable deep breath.
6. After sitting for a while, what is it like to bend down to put on shoes or pick up a light object?
I can do it without unusual stiffness or restriction.
I feel briefly stiff, but the movement becomes normal quickly.
I regularly need extra time or a modified position because of stiffness.
Spinal or hip-area stiffness substantially limits the movement or makes me need help.
7. How do back or hip-area symptoms affect ordinary periods of standing, walking, or sitting?
They do not limit these activities.
I sometimes adjust my position, but I can continue normally.
I regularly need breaks or need to change activities earlier than planned.
They substantially restrict routine activities, work, study, or sleep.
8. Thinking about when your ongoing back or buttock symptoms began, which description fits best?
I have not had ongoing symptoms of this kind.
They began suddenly after a clear injury or unusually heavy activity.
They developed gradually after age 45, or I cannot clearly place when they began.
They developed gradually before age 45 without a clear injury.
9. After waking in the morning, how long does noticeable lower-back stiffness usually last?
I do not notice morning stiffness there.
It usually eases within 15 minutes.
It commonly lasts about 15 to 30 minutes.
It commonly lasts longer than 30 minutes and improves as I move around.
10. Which description best matches any episodes involving a red or uncomfortable eye?
I have not experienced unexplained eye redness, pain, light sensitivity, or blurred vision.
I have had mild irritation with a likely cause, such as dryness or an allergen, that cleared quickly.
I have had recurring unexplained redness or light sensitivity that was not medically assessed.
I currently have a painful red eye or vision change, or a clinician has diagnosed uveitis or iritis before.
11. Which statement best describes back or buttock pain during the night?
It does not disturb my sleep.
It bothers me mainly after a strenuous or physically unusual day.
It sometimes wakes me, although I can usually change position and settle again.
It often wakes me in the second half of the night, and getting up to move helps.
12. What do you know about ankylosing spondylitis or axial spondyloarthritis in your biological family?
No biological relative is known to have either condition.
I am unsure because my family history is incomplete or unavailable.
A more distant biological relative has one of these conditions, or a related inflammatory condition occurs in my family.
A parent, sibling, or child has ankylosing spondylitis or axial spondyloarthritis.
13. Over the past three months, how has pain in your lower back or buttock area affected you?
I have not had pain in that area.
I have had a few brief episodes after unusual activity that settled within a day.
I have had recurring episodes lasting several days at a time.
The pain began gradually and has been present on most days for about three months or longer.
14. When checking traffic before crossing or driving, how easily can you turn your head and upper body?
I can look both ways without unusual restriction.
I occasionally feel mild tightness but can complete the movement.
I often compensate by turning more of my body.
My neck or upper-back restriction makes checking both directions markedly difficult.
15. How often do you experience pain where tendons attach to bone, such as the heel, sole, elbow, or around the kneecap?
I do not experience pain in these attachment areas.
It occurs only after clear overuse and settles promptly.
It recurs without a clear injury or takes a long time to settle.
It is persistent, affects multiple sites, or significantly limits walking or daily activity.