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This Saturday is World AS Day, but axial SpA remains dangerously overlooked. This inflammatory arthritis attacks the spine, causing debilitating lower back pain. It affects more people than Parkinson's and ME combined, yet nine in 10 of the public have never heard of it. Treatment can be life-changing. But after their symptoms begin, patients wait an average of eight years for a diagnosis - risking irreversible damage to their spine.

That delay does more than harm their health. The disease usually takes hold in people's twenties, just as they should be building their careers. Without treatment, even ordinary work becomes punishing. Sitting at a desk can be unbearable; manual labour may be impossible.

Many are forced to cut their hours, take sick leave, or stop working altogether. Every year without a diagnosis means working less, earning less, and struggling to perform at their best.

The UK is an international laggard. In France and Italy, axial SpA diagnoses take around five years; in Germany, it's just over six. Here, almost a third of patients see their GP more than five times before being referred to a rheumatologist.

I was one of them. Despite the textbook signs being there for 10 years - low back pain that's worse with rest, morning stiffness and fatigue - none of the army of clinicians I saw thought an inflammatory condition was the cause.

Too many still see arthritis as something that only affects the elderly, allowing patients to slip through the cracks.

The impact this has on productivity and tax receipts is profound. Research shows that delayed diagnosis of axial SpA costs our economy £3.1bn a year. And I'd wager that a chunk of the one-million people signed off work with "back pain" are living with undiagnosed inflammatory arthritis.

The good news is that the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society has shown the condition can be easily identified. Its Act on Axial SpA campaign highlighted the key symptoms in Belfast, sparking lightbulb moments for hundreds of people.

The campaign reached thousands of 18 to 40-year-olds, and nearly three-quarters of those who completed its symptom checker met the threshold for referral to rheumatology.

This matters because earlier diagnosis keeps people in work and stops a treatable illness becoming a long-term disability.

So next time your friend or neighbour complains about low back pain, tell them about axial SpA. This silent condition affects more than 200,000 people across the UK - enough to fill Wembley Stadium more than twice over. Yet in the NHS and across the country, it's hidden in plain sight.

That has to change. Earlier diagnosis would give thousands of people their lives back and help get Britain back to work.