One of the main components of diagnosing spondylitis is identifying inflammatory back pain vs. mechanical back pain.

A study published in the January 2009 issue of Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, by J Sieper 1, D M van der Heijde, et al, points out the primary methods that experts identify inflammatory back pain.

The study's results state, "Five parameters explained best IBP according to experts. These were: 1) improvement with exercise…2) pain at night …3) insidious onset… 4) age at onset < 40 years…and 5) no improvement with rest."

The more of these 5 parameters are present, the more likely the pain is inflammatory in nature.

The study's abstract can be found by clicking here.

Reference: New criteria for inflammatory back pain in patients with chronic back pain - a real patient exercise of the Assessment in SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) - doi:10.1136/ard.2008.101501

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