My journey is similar. We have a tough road. Just getting to this website and joining with others has been a big help.

The boney growths, syndesmophytes, are beyond annoying. Mine are now grinding against each other, starting to fuse,...entering stage 4.

Please share your journey and questions. You will find others being supportive, sometimes with a great since of humor. I look forward to reading your messages.

Thanks for the info. Too bad that doctors of different specialities use different terms. This can be confusing. Thanks again.🙂

For those who need to know in one quick sentence, here it is. Osteophytes are abnormal bone growth from bone while syndesmophytes are bone-like growth within cartilage. Like many with AS, I have both.

I do spine exercises to keep these bone growths at bay. It does work. Sometimes the grinding hurts to a degree that I doubt only AS and other SpA patients know. The associated nerve flares can start spasms. So, I had to learn how to respect these, too. Tough road, but, it can be done.

FWIW, I had to learn what these terms meant prior to a cervical surgery because the neurosurgeon defined AS differently. Neurosurgeons only use neuro and oseteo definitions to describe their opinions and surgeries. Rheumatology is partially a unique discipline among the medical community because they include immunology terms. It's sometimes challenging even for doctors to navigate these different disciplines as a patient. I mention this for those who are struggling, like most of us, to understand their different doctors. Our struggles, unfortunately, are normal for us. The different medical disciplines makes it even more challenging. So, I love this website and treasure what people share. It helps me, I hope it helps you, too.

@A MySpondylitisTeam Member, thank you for asking this important question. Maybe others will add their insight.

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I looked the word up. My neck is fused from AS, but a doctor hasn't mentioned Syndesmophytes.