How to Make Living With Ankylosing Spondylitis Easier at Home

Medically reviewed by Forest Miller, MSOT, OTR/L

Home upgrades and assistive devices can make daily life easier when you have ankylosing spondylitis (AS). These can include canes, walkers, specialized car mirrors, and shower handles.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a type of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis of the spine (spinal spondylitis). With ankylosing spondylitis, vertebrae (bones of the spine) and joints connecting the spine and hips become stiff and painful due to a mistaken immune reaction that causes inflammation.

People with AS can experience back and hip pain and limited mobility. Shoulders, hips, ribs, heels, and joints in the hands and feet can also be affected. Treating AS can include physical therapy, medications, and, in rare cases, spinal surgery.

This article discusses devices and home upgrades that can help manage ankylosing spondylitis.

Assistive Devices for Ankylosing Spondylitis

Assistive devices for ankylosing spondylitis can help with monitoring symptoms, managing and preventing pain, and performing activities of daily living.

Caution: Getting Help With Assistive Devices

Before purchasing or renting assistive devices or modifying your home, speak to a healthcare provider about the best aids for you and your AS symptoms. In addition, your insurance company or Medicare/Medicaid office can provide information on cost savings for both home modifications and medically assisted devices.

Medical Devices

Medical devices to help with AS-related hip, back, and joint pain might include:

• Walkers: When medically necessary, walkers are covered by some health insurance plans, including Medicare. To choose the right walker, consider its height, whether wheels are needed, whether the walker will be used indoors or outdoors, whether a seat attachment is necessary, and whether you need a foldable device.

• Canes: A cane can be a convenient way to balance as you walk and stand while managing the pain of AS. Canes can be purchased with or without a prescription.

• Custom orthotics: AS can affect a person's posture and gait (the way they walk), and this can, in turn, affect their feet. This can result in plantar fasciitis, an inflammation in the bottom of the foot. Orthotics are shoe inserts that can help align the feet. They can be custom-made with a prescription or store-bought.
  

Pain-Management Devices

Devices that can help manage AS pain during and after daily activities include:

• Heating pads: Heat therapy can help achy joints by increasing blood flow and relaxing stiff muscles and tissues. However, heating pads do increase inflammation, so it's advised to use ice for swelling or an injury.

• Ice packs/cold compresses: Cold therapy, which reduces blood flow, can help with back and joint pain from AS-related inflammation and swelling.

• Massagers: Massagers for the back, hands, and feet can help with relaxing stiff joints by increasing circulation.

• Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS): TENS is a pain-relief device in which electric currents are sent through wires to patches attached to the skin. The electrical currents activate the body's natural painkillers. Studies and reviews of TENS for pain relief are mixed and depend on the condition. However, it might be worth trying for people with AS, especially during activities like exercising or housecleaning.

Reachers

Reachers are mobility devices that can help with grabbing objects without bending, stretching, or twisting to retrieve them. They help extend reach and range of motion for people with AS while easing pressure on the joints. Reachers are usually lightweight and operate with a handle for the user to press, which then causes a grabber on the other end to grip and release items.

Grips

Grips make it easier to open jars and bottles. They ease pressure on joints in the hand, which can help prevent pain.

Bedroom Modifications

Joint pain can make getting a good night's sleep and getting ready for the day difficult for people with spinal arthritis. Here are modifications and devices that can help.

Supportive Sleep Setup

It's advised to avoid devices that limit sleeping to one position, which can increase joint pain from AS. But there are methods of finding comfort in a preferred sleeping position. These include:

• A sturdy (but not too firm) mattress that distributes weight evenly

• Sleeping in a reclining position to decrease pressure on the spine

• For back sleepers: A thin pillow or no pillow

• For side sleepers: A pillow between the legs and a neck pillow (like a travel pillow or towel) to align the neck and spine
  

• For hands: Splints or compression gloves to avoid swelling and joint pain

• For knees: Pillows under the knees for back sleepers or between knees for side sleepers

• For feet: Compression stockings or blanket lifters to keep the weight of blankets off achy feet

Dressing Devices

Several devices and products can help people with AS get dressed, including:

• Reachers for picking up clothing that is out of reach

• Dressing sticks for removing and putting on clothing

• Long-handled shoehorns for adjusting shoes

• Zipper pulls and button aids

• A dressing gown if a towel is too difficult to use

• Sock aids

• Velcro fasteners for shoes

• Front-closing bras

Bathroom Upgrades

Upgrading your bathroom can be important when living with AS, considering the risk of slipping. Bathroom devices can also help with bathing and other tasks. Here are some suggestions:

• For toilets: Nonslip mats, higher toilet seats, automatic flushing devices, bidets, grab bars

• For tubs and showers: Slip mats, grab bars, shower seats, transfer benches, refillable pump bottles to make dispensing bath products easier

• For the sink: Replacing knobs with levers, a toothpaste squeezer, a rubber band for making a toothbrush easier to grab

• Long-handled tools like bath sponges with handles, longer toothbrushes, etc.

• Replacing a bathtub with a walk-in tub or a large shower space with a bench

• Easily accessible night lights for navigating in the dark

Kitchen Tools and Arrangements

Making adjustments in the kitchen, including adding easy-to-use tools, can make cooking safer and simpler.

Kitchen upgrades that can help people with arthritis include:

• Adding nonslip mats

• Putting most-used pots and cutlery on the counter or on a cart

• Using a cart for moving plates

• Upgrading to lighter cookware and dishes, along with easy-grip cutlery

• Adding foam padding to pot handles and cutlery to make holding them easier

• Using cloths under bowls when mixing

• Buying frozen or pre-chopped vegetables and fruit

• Buying healthy prepared meals or ingredients

Kitchen tools that might be useful to someone with joint pain include:

• An electric can opener

• Jar grips

• Mugs that can be held with both hands safely
  

• Kettle tippers for pouring drinks safely

• A handheld blender

Home Office Tips

For navigating a home office, it might help someone managing joint pain to add the following to their work life:

• Extension cords or higher outlets (which might require rewiring)

• Voice-activated technology like smart speakers or typing software

• Cushions for wrists when typing or using a mouse

• Larger pens for an easier grip or rubber bands around tools to maintain grip

• Stands to prop up tablets, screens, or phones

• Reachers for grabbing supplies

• Touch-sensitive switches and lamps

• Grab rails and extra space for navigating the room

House-Wide Adjustments

For general mobility around their home, someone with AS might consider the following.

Handrails

Handrails and grab bars can be added throughout the home to limit strain for people with joint pain, including in or around:

• Showers, bathtubs, and toilet seats

• Often-used seats

• Home entrances, especially with stairs

• Dining rooms and kitchens

• Garages for navigating to and from cars

Raised Seats

People with AS might have difficulty switching between sitting and standing or remaining comfortable in seats. Raising seats to limit motion or having electronic adjustable seats could help, including with:

• Toilet seats

• Dining or office chairs

• Living room recliners and sofas

• Car seats

Nonslip Mats

Nonslip mats can be used throughout a home to keep people with AS safe from slips and falls. This can include mats in the bath, kitchen, office, and well-trafficked areas.

Modifying Room and Item Locations

Consider these changes:

• Switching locations of most-used rooms and items, such as placing a main bedroom downstairs or an office desk in a living room

• Using extension cords and placing outlets at closer reach

Added Convenience

These changes may add convenience:

• Placing grab bars in areas near often-used seats or steps

• Using carts and other tools with wheels (like a mobile laundry hamper or desk)

• Using long-handled supplies, like reachers for cleaning towels or a standing dustpan

• Adding remote or voice-controlled technology, such as voice-activated doorbells or remote-controlled appliances and lights

• Monitoring carpets for any that are loose or slippery

• Setting up a personal alarm system, which can be worn, for sending alerts in case of a fall

Summary

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a spinal arthritis that causes inflammation in the vertebrae (spinal bones) and hips, along with other joints in the body. In addition to medication, there are ways to manage daily life with AS with home modifications, assistive devices, and other tools.

Walkers, canes, and custom orthotics (insoles) can all be prescribed and possibly covered by health insurance, while pain management tools like heating or ice pads and TENS units can be purchased in stores or online.

Reachers, grips, nonslip mats, raised or electronic seats, grab rails, and extension cords can be implemented throughout a home to help people with AS. Voice-activated and touch technology, such as Google Voice or touch lamps, can also help with preventing AS-related joint pain, while personal alarm systems could send out alerts in case of a fall.

Using a sturdy mattress and pillows for knees in the bedroom, long-handled brushes and shower benches in the bathroom, and placing most-used dishes and kitchen tools on the counter are also examples of home modifications that can assist with managing AS.

In the home office, foam supports for your wrists, placing monitors at eye level, props for reading phones and tablets, and larger pens can help people with AS continue their working lives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exercises can you do at home to help alleviate pain and stiffness from AS?

The Spondylitis Association of America recommends four types of exercises for people with AS: range of motion and stretching (moving joints through complete motions), cardiovascular (exercises that increase heart rate three to five times a week for at least 25 minutes a day), strengthening (strengthening your core and weight lifting), and balance (focusing on stability while moving or staying still for at least 20 minutes a day, three days a week).

Can a back or neck brace help with ankylosing spondylitis?

According to the Arthritis Foundation, while a brace could prevent bending or reaching, it might not be practical. Maintaining straight posture, sleeping on a flat back without a pillow, and exercising can all help with back pain or mobility issues related to AS. A physical therapist can determine the best exercises for you.

Does health insurance cover assistive devices or medically necessary home modifications?

Health insurance, including Medicare, can cover some medically-necessary devices and home modifications. These include walkers, canes, custom orthotics (like insoles), grab bars, ramps, door openers and doorbells, bathtub changes, faucet modifications, workstation changes, or cabinet modifications. Benefits and coverage can depend on your state's insurance rules and your plan.