Ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory rheumatic condition affecting primarily the spine and the sacroiliac joints. Its distinguishing feature is that pain eases with movement rather than rest — the opposite of mechanical back pain. Here exercise is not a supplement but a component at the centre of treatment; international guidelines explicitly recommend regular exercise alongside medication. In Bursa Nilüfer, Fizyoterapist Aydın Ali delivers a mobility-focused programme that complements the treatment your doctor is running.
Fizyoterapist Aydın Ali provides one-to-one care for ankylosing spondylitis at the clinic in Bursa Nilüfer — in Fethiye Mahallesi, on Kelebek Sokak, at a central point of Nilüfer, opposite the Fethiye covered market.
It is a short trip by car or public transport from İhsaniye, Odunluk, Balat, Özlüce, Ataevler, 23 Nisan and the surrounding areas. Every session is one-to-one, assessment-based and tailored to you.
This one sentence is the most important clue that tells ankylosing spondylitis apart from ordinary low back pain. Mechanical low back pain increases with movement and eases with rest; inflammatory low back pain does the opposite. Add morning stiffness lasting over half an hour and pain that wakes you in the second half of the night, and the picture becomes quite clear.
Fizyoterapist Aydın Ali recognises this symptom pattern and refers to a rheumatologist if no diagnosis has been made yet — early diagnosis directly affects the outcome in this disease. Once diagnosed, physiotherapy comes in as a component that complements the physician's treatment; what matters is consistency, not intensity.
In ankylosing spondylitis inflammation can lead over time to stiffening of the spinal joints. A spine that keeps its mobility through this process is in a far better position than one trying to regain what it has lost — recovering lost range is not always possible.
Exercise here is therefore not something done once the pain settles. International guidelines recommend regular exercise alongside medication as an inseparable part of treatment. What decides the outcome is not intensity but consistency.
The condition pushes the spine towards a forward-bent posture. The programme therefore works largely in the opposite direction: trunk extension, opening the chest, shoulder girdle and hip flexor flexibility. The aim is to use daily exactly those movements most likely to be lost.
Rib cage mobility is a separate heading. When the rib joints are affected, deep breathing becomes restricted; breathing exercises are therefore not decoration but a measured component — chest expansion distance is tracked regularly.
The condition runs in flares and quiet periods. Stopping exercise entirely during a flare makes returning harder afterwards; forcing through it increases symptoms. The right approach is to lower the dose and preserve continuity.
The programme is therefore planned in two tiers: a quiet-period programme and a reduced version for flares. You are taught to recognise which applies from your own symptoms.
Ankylosing spondylitis is diagnosed by a rheumatologist through examination, blood tests and imaging. All medical decisions, medication included, belong to your doctor; physiotherapy complements that treatment and does not replace it.
In young adults with long-standing back pain that does not ease with rest and wakes them at night, this diagnosis should be considered. When Fizyoterapist Aydın Ali recognises that symptom pattern in someone not yet diagnosed, a referral is made — early diagnosis directly affects outcomes in this condition.
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Fizyoterapist Aydın Ali · Bursa Nilüfer. Share your complaint; we plan the process together after the assessment.
No. Appropriately dosed exercise has been shown to reduce pain and stiffness and to protect mobility. Intensity is lowered during flares, but the programme is not abandoned.
It usually suits this condition well: joint loading is low and it supports trunk extension. Even so it is not enough on its own and should run alongside targeted mobility and posture exercises.
Consistency matters more than intensity here. A short daily programme produces better results than one long weekly session. The programme is planned around that reality, so that it is sustainable in daily life.
It does. A firm mattress, a thin pillow and lying as flat as possible support posture, while always sleeping curled on your side reinforces the forward-bent position. The details are discussed individually at the assessment.
For back pain that persists without a clear imaging finding: a programme that looks for the source.
For pain settling between the shoulder blades that builds through the day: a programme aimed at the source.
An exercise-based, one-to-one physiotherapy programme for back pain and pain radiating into the leg.
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The appointment form does not ask for health information; details are discussed by phone.
