Knee Diagram
If you don’t have a google alert set up for ankylosing spondylitis, you totally should. This story popped across my Netvibes this morning; there’s some research going on that looks at other joint areas AS attacks (in addition to the spinal column). It talks about the PTF joint (pictured on right) . . . heck I didn’t know what it was either 
. Anyway, apparently there’s good documentation about how AS damages knees, but not a lot of research about how it effects specifc parts of the knee.
From newsrx.com:
Scientists discuss in ‘Involvement of the proximal tibiofibular joint in ankylosing spondylitis’ new findings in ankylosing spondylitis. “Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) may affect peripheral joints, with the shoulder, hip, and knee being well known involved sites. However, involvement of the proximal tibiofibular (PTF) joint has not yet been investigated,” researchers in Seoul, Korea report.
Check out the rest of the newsrx.com article here. I don’t think the journal in question is available yet online, but if anyone has a pdf of it, I’d love to get my digital hands on it.
Hong et al, 2009. Involvement of the proximal tibiofibular joint in ankylosing spondylitis. Acta Radiologica, 50(4):418-22.
WHAT IS THE BEST TREATMENTS FOR A.S. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING EXCEPT SURGERY I AM AFRAID OF SURGERY BUT MAY NOT HAVE A CHOICE AS THE PAIN LEAVES ME BREATHLESS AND I CANT EVEN EAT OR THINK DO YOU RECCOMEND SURGERY FOR A.S. THE O.S. DONT HAVE A CLUE ON A.S. AT LEAST THE ONES I HAVE BEEN TO. EVEY ONE OF THEM SAYS SOMITHING DIFFERENT WHAT WOULD BE MY NEXT STEP?
i also have AS- I was put on Golimumab (commercial name sympony) at 50cc injections once a month- not onli did my flare up lesen in intensity and duration, but after a year i started getting back some of my range of motion.
This is a TNF inhibitor drug that weakens your immune system so its not right for every one and you will be more prone to infection (esp. upper respiratory) There are others like embril and Humera that are very simular -just slightly weaker- I have had no bad side effects, rasher, headaches, stomach complaints etc. – it may be a possibility ask you Rhumatologist if this might help you- other health factors will have to be taken into consideration (i have gained back abt 30cm in my range of motion and suffer more stiffness than actual pain now.