Celecoxib, commonly referred to on the market as Celebrex, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is designed to reduce the hormones flowing through the body to help reduce inflammation and pain within the body.
Doctors will often prescribe Celecoxib to a patient who is suffering from pain or inflammation as a result of such diagnoses as arthritis, menstrual pain, as well as ankylosing spondylitis. Ankylosing spondylitis is a disease that is inflammatory in nature that causes vertebrae within the spine to fuse together. This can lead to a hunched forward posture, which can make it difficult to breathe, especially when the ribs are affected.
Ankylosing spondylitis, according to the Mayo Clinic, affects men more than it affects women. The symptoms will often begin within the early years of adulthood. The inflammation can take place in other parts of the body beyond the spine, with the eyes being the most common.
There is no cure for this disease and therefore treatments are the best a person with this diagnosis can hope for. The use of celecoxib can help to reduce the level of inflammation, thereby reducing the amount of pain. This can help to reduce the symptoms and make it easier to live with the disease on a day-to-day basis.
When Celecoxib is used, it can help to reduce the stiffness as the inflammation goes down and this may delay or prevent spinal deformity. Many people with this disease are able to benefit from NSAIDs. The pain and stiffness can be dramatically improved. However, some people will experience gastrointestinal bleeding as a result of using an NSAID.
If a person has not had any success using Celecoxib, it is possible that a doctor will prescribe a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker. These have been used in people with arthritis as well as ankylosing spondylitis. This type of drug works by targeting the protein responsible for reducing pain and stiffness. These are not always the most ideal because they are administered by way of a IV line.
The key to treating ankylosing spondylitis is to catch it early on. Any kind of treatment with this disease is going to be more successful when it is in the early stages and has yet to cause irreversible damage to the joints or the vertebrae of the spine.
Celecoxib or Celebrex has been on the market for a considerable amount of time and it is being used as one of the most popular NSAIDs.
When a person believes that they have ankylosing spondylitis or they are experiencing pain within their spine, going to the doctor is critical. If there is a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, a doctor is likely going to prescribe an NSAID such as Celecoxib to treat the inflammation and pain.
