Ankylosing spondylitis, commonly abbreviated as AS, is a chronic (long-term) inflammatory disease that affects your spine and sacroiliac joints (the point where the spine meets pelvis).
It is a type of arthritis, specifically belonging to a group of diseases that are inflammatory joint diseases).
It can cause swelling in the vertebrae, which can start fusing gradually and make the spine stiff. This leads to difficulty in performing minor actions like bending and standing upright.
AS usually begins in individuals aged between 20 to 40 years, mostly affecting males.
Other than the spine, it can affect shoulders, hips, buttocks and other joints especially rest or after waking up in the morning.
Ankylosing spondylitis does not occur by a singular cause. It occurs when genetic and immune system factors combine together to develop inflammatory conditions.
These causes can be:
GENETIC FACTORS
IMMUNE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS
Ankylosing spondylitis can cause pain, stiffness, and reduced movement in the spine, making daily activities uncomfortable. The good news is that you don’t always need to rely only on medicines—physiotherapy exercises play a key role in managing pain, improving posture, and maintaining spinal flexibility. When done slowly and correctly, these exercises help reduce stiffness and support long-term mobility; however, if you feel sharp pain, stop and consult your physiotherapist.
This is one of the best physiotherapy exercises for neck pain to correct poor posture and release tension from the upper back. Sitting at a desk for long hours can make your shoulders round and chest tight, pulling your neck forward and causing pain. This exercise helps open the chest, improve posture, and relax neck muscles.
Step-by-Step Guide:
Muscles Targeted: Chest muscles, upper back muscles, and neck stabilizers.
Benefits:
Pro Tip: Do this 3–4 times a week for best results.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don’t lift your head off the roller; keep it supported to prevent strain.
Also Read: Physiotherapy For Joint Pain ; Physiotherapy For Disc Burge
Neck and Shoulder Rolls are one of the easiest and most effective ways to relax your upper body. Sitting for long hours, working on a computer, or using your phone can make your neck and shoulders tight and sore. This exercise gently loosens those muscles, improves blood flow, and reduces stress, making you feel lighter and more comfortable.
Step-by-Step Guide
Muscles Targeted: Neck muscles, trapezius, and shoulder muscles.
Benefits:
Pro Tip: Do this exercise during short breaks at work or after using your phone for a long time.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Avoid rolling your head in a full circle; this can strain the neck joints.
This exercise is perfect for relieving tightness on the sides of your neck, which often happens due to looking at screens or sleeping in the wrong position. It gently stretches the muscles and improves flexibility.
How to do it:
Benefits:
Pro Tip: Do this stretch during short breaks at work or after long hours on your phone or computer.
Common Mistake to Avoid:
Don’t lift your shoulder toward your ear while tilting your head; keep the shoulder relaxed to avoid strain.
This exercise strengthens the muscles of your upper back and neck, which support good posture and reduce neck pain caused by long hours of sitting or working at a desk.
How to do it (Prone Rows):
Alternative (Resistance Band Rows):
Muscles Targeted: Upper back, trapezius, rhomboids, and neck stabilizers.
Benefits:
Pro Tip:
Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together, not just moving your arms. Keep movements slow and controlled.
Common Mistake to Avoid:
Avoid shrugging your shoulders or arching your lower back; maintain a neutral spine to prevent strain.
Water exercises are gentle and effective for relieving neck pain because the water supports your body and reduces pressure on your spine. This makes them ideal for easing stiffness, tension, or mild neck injuries.
How to do it:
Muscles Targeted:
Neck muscles, upper back muscles, and shoulder stabilizers.
Benefits:
Pro Tip:
Do these exercises in a warm pool to relax muscles and enhance comfort.
Common Mistake to Avoid:
Avoid moving too quickly or forcing your neck; water supports your body, so slow, gentle movements are enough.
Planks are core exercises that engage the abs, back, shoulders, glutes and legs for overall stability and fitness of the body.
How is it done?
Key Benefits:
Also Read: Physiotherapy For knee pain ; Physiotherapy For back pain
Swimming or doing aquatic exercises improve overall fitness and health by reducing strain on the muscles.
How is it done?
Key Benefits:
Ankylosing spondylitis physiotherapy exercises are valuable and evidence supported management components of the disease. It helps maintain flexibility, supports physical function, and may reduce pain and disease activity when part of a structured program
The proven benefits of Ankylosing Spondylitis exercises are:
A structured treatment program helps the patients to record their progress and plan further exercises for Ankylosing spondylitis accordingly.
Once you’ve recovered or even while performing physiotherapy, preventing neck pain is equally important. Simple daily habits can help maintain healthy neck muscles, improve posture, and prevent chronic issues:
Pro Tip: Combining these daily habits with physiotherapy for neck pain, either in-clinic or physiotherapy online, ensures faster recovery, reduces the risk of future pain, and keeps your neck muscles strong and flexible
When it comes to neck pain, getting expert guidance is key. Resolve360 provides professional physiotherapy designed to give long-term relief and improve your quality of life. Here’s why patients trust us:
Pro Tip: Combining online physiotherapy from Resolve360 with simple daily habits, like posture correction and short breaks from screens, helps achieve faster, sustainable relief from neck pain.
Neck pain doesn’t have to control your life. With Physiotherapy for Neck Pain, you can relieve discomfort naturally, improve posture, and prevent future issues. Resolve360 offers expert physiotherapy online, providing personalized care for neck pain, back pain, joint pain, and disc bulges.
By combining professional guidance with daily habits and targeted exercises, you can strengthen your muscles, reduce pain, and regain mobility—without relying on medication. Start your journey toward a healthier, pain-free life today with Resolve360
It takes at least 4 to 8 weeks of consistent ankylosing spondylitis physical therapy exercise sessions to see positive results so that you can witness improved posture, reduced pain, enhanced mobility and all together a good quality of life.
Muscular neck pain feels like soreness, tightness, or stiffness. Nerve-related neck pain may cause sharp shooting pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness in arms and shoulders. A physiotherapy evaluation with Resolve360 helps identify the exact cause and provides the right treatment plan.
Yes. You can exercise daily but with gentle and low impact activities like walking, swimming, stretching and deep breathing. These daily activities help control chronic pain safely.
Yes. Physical therapy for ankylosing spondylitis helps enhance spine mobility and reduces stiffness. Regular physiotherapy helps restore mobility and corrects posture. Guided physiotherapy sessions can reduce the need for long term medications.
Yes. You can do Ankylosing Spondylitis physiotherapy at home through telerehabilitation with expert guidance from Resolve360 where you can get regular supervision and flexibility outcomes from the comfort of your home.
A medium-firm, ergonomic cervical pillow or memory foam pillow that keeps your neck aligned with the spine is best. Using the right pillow with physiotherapy exercises ensures faster recovery from cervical pain
The best exercise for Ankylosing Spondylitis consists of spine stretching, core strengthening, deep breathing exercises and posture correction movements. These can help reduce stiffness, improve flexibility, and prevent fusion of vertebrae.
You can release neck muscles naturally with physiotherapy stretches, warm compresses, foam roller “T” & “Y” exercises, and posture correction. These improve blood circulation and ease tension.
Yes, online physiotherapy sessions with Resolve360 provide guided exercises, posture correction, and real-time feedback from experts—giving the same benefits as clinic visits, while saving time and travel.
To prevent cervical pain, keep your screen at eye level, take breaks every 30 minutes, use a supportive pillow, practice posture correction, and do regular neck stretches. Physiotherapy + lifestyle changes ensure long-term relief.
Dr. Nidhi Kumari
She has persuaded her bachelor’s from SGT University, Gurugram, she has done her internship at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and persuade her Master in Physiotherapy from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. She has previously worked with Orthocure clinic, Dr.Nasir physiotherapy rehabilitation, Quantum physiotherapy, and wellness center.
If you have more questions.
Dr. Nidhi
She has persuaded her bachelor’s from SGT University, Gurugram, she has done her internship at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and persuade her Master in Physiotherapy from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. She has previously worked with Orthocure clinic, Dr.Nasir physiotherapy rehabilitation, Quantum physiotherapy, and wellness center.
If you have more questions.
Also Read: Back Pain: Causes and Treatment
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We are your doctor’s first choice and trusted by 50,000+ patients.
We are your doctor’s first choice and trusted by 50,000+ patients.
We are your doctor’s first choice and trusted by 50,000+ patients.
Resolve360 is great platform for online physiotherapy.
I was suffering from scapula dyskinesia and had lot of pain in right shoulder movement. I was introduced to Resolve 360 by my oncologist.
Within a month (26 sessions) there was a considerable improvement. Sessions are very cost-effective and doctors are very kind and efficient.
Doctor David has been really great and helpful. I would highly recommend Resolve 360.
I took prenatal care program from Resolve 360. Dr. Preyrna was assigned to me and she has done commendable job. I did prenatal exercises under her supervision, she designed program according to my body need. With her help my pregnancy was healthy and I got good dilations at the time of delivery. I am blessed with a healthy baby girl and very happy with Resolve 360.
Best therapy sessions that too at home and timings are very flexible. I had a issue in my neck and lower back since almost 4 to 5 years, taken so many treatments and physio sessions. But all gave a temporary relief. Then my friend referred me this Resolve 360 in 2020, in starting i was hesitant as everything was online, but after taking almost 10 sessions i got much relief, and now i am almost free of pain. Thanks to the team of Resolve 360.
I had online Physiotherpy sessions by Prerana for my heel pain. ( Tendo Achilis Sprain).
Though virtual, it was more interactive.
She was very observant throughout the sessions, correcting me while doing the exercises and was assertive in her outlook.
I found her instructions and methodology very helpful. She is updated in her academic knowledge in the field of Physiotherpy. She clarified my doubts about the role of Laser and Ultrasound treatment quoting evidence based data. With my personal experience I agree with her opinion that these are more of placebo effect.
Physiotherpy though not a miracle treatment, is a compelling necessity to most of the musculoskeletal and neurological illnesses. It needs to be accepted as healthy way to live.
From being a couch potato with poor cardio respiratory system to reaching pre-athlete levels of fitness in a span of 3 months, my journey with Resolve360 and Dr.David (Physiotherapist) has been anything but magical!
About 3 to 4 months ago, my blood report showed very high bad cholesterol levels, I was low on stamina and had frequent breathing issues. My GP prescribed me cholesterol meds for a month but I felt that alone wouldn’t get me back in shape because I needed a major lifestyle overhaul.
Dr.David educated me about my condition in detail and where it could lead me to if I don’t take action in the long run. He put me on a balanced workout regime being easy with cardio workouts in the initial days and gradually upgraded it observing me closely. He also advises me on dietary choices and follows up frequently. During the initial days, my ears used to get blocked within 5 wall squats and I stop right away but now I do over 20 in one shot and hardly feel a thing. I used to lose balance and fall off over my face within 6 push-ups or 20 seconds of plank and now I do about 24 push-ups in one shot. My heart rate used to raise above 150 bpm doing jumping jacks or other cardio workout within 20-30 seconds. You won’t believe I don’t do any of these cardio workouts without additional weights on my feet these days and my heart rate and recovery are as steady as they could get. I couldn’t run for over 2 min without stopping and gasping and now I cover about 4.6 km in 30 min and follow-up with a 20 min walk. Not convinced yet? My VO2 Max (I use an Apple Watch to measure this stat) was just about 33 while I started with Resolve360 and David. That reflects a very poor cardio respiratory fitness for a 34 year old. It’s 43.5 today ! Easily above average. Please read upon about VO2 Max and how it directly relates to cardio respiratory fitness so you get an accurate picture about my monumental progress in the last 3 months. I’ve been trying to get into a regular physical workout and balanced diet discipline since my 20s but I’d never been so motivated as I’m now. Give these guys a try. After all, the best investment you could ever make is on your health !
We contacted resolve360 for our child speech issue and I must say Resolve 360 team and Apoorva doing a wonderful job.
Our speech therapist Jaslia from Resolve360 is having a excellent knowledge and it helps our child a lot. Jaslia understand child psychology very well. Due to her efforts, we are seeing tremendous improvements in our child. She has a strong dedication towards her work and her nature towards kids makes her a very special one. She has given us enough confidence, due to her efforts and excellent service, we are seeing good improvements for my child speech & communication skills.
I would highly recommend Jaslia & Resolve360 team for their excellent work. God bless you!!
