There are several ways to follow your own progress. The first is to get a baseline to show where you are now. For example, your doctor probably ordered X-rays at some point early in the diagnosis. The X-rays are helpful because they show the condition and position of the joints and bone. Future X-rays can be taken and compared to the original ones.

There are several clinical tests your physician may measure from time to time. The first is called Schöber's test. This is a measure of movement in the lumbar spine as you bend forward. With AS, it's common for patients to lose motion and start to bend from the hips and upper spine instead of using the lower spine.

A second test is a measurement of chest expansion. The physician just uses a tape measure to see how much your ribs and chest expand when you take a deep breath. Because AS causes the spine to fuse, there is a natural progression of lost chest expansion.

There are also specific measures of activity for patients with AS. The Bath Anklyosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) allows each patient to describe the severity of symptoms on a scale from none to very severe. Morning stiffness is recorded in minutes to hours.

Another similar checklist is the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). By filling out this survey, you rate your activity and function from easy to impossible. This survey includes actions or movements such as putting on socks, picking something up from the floor, or getting up out of a chair or off the floor.

By filling these types of surveys out on a regular basis (such as every six months to a year), you can follow your own progress. This is actually a very good idea because if you see that you are losing ground, you can get help from your doctor and a physical therapist. Managing the symptoms and preventing further deformity are the major goals of treatment.