Spondyloarthritis Inception Cohort of Southern Denmark

People with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) experience a diagnostic delay of 6.5 years in men and up to 8.8 years in women. One of the reasons for the diagnostic delay seems to be limited awareness of the disease characteristics in the referring health care professionals in primary care. By raising awareness about the disease, the study aims at reducing the diagnostic delay and improving early treatment. In addition to diagnostic and pharmacological treatment, physical exercise and rehabilitation are recommended in people with axSpA. In Denmark, people with axSpA are only offered free of charge physiotherapy when the disease has progressed to a stage with radiographic changes of the spine even though people in the early stage of axSpA report a similar disease burden. The overall objective of Spondyloarthritis Inception Cohort of Southern Denmark (SPINCODE) is to set up an axSpA inception cohort among individuals with low back pain ≥ 3 months who are considered to be at risk for axSpA. The investigators aim to learn more about the course of axSpA during the early stage of disease appropriately assess outcomes, including novel imaging techniques and identify predictive outcomes. Moreover, the investigators want to test the effect of an outpatient physiotherapist-coordinated rehabilitation intervention in people suspected of having axSpA.