What is Psoriatic Arthritis?
Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory, chronic disease of the joints. Just like psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis is related to health conditions. This can happen at any age, and it could also affect children. Psoriatic arthritis is a disease that often appears between the ages of thirty and fifty, but for many people it will start 10 years after the first signs of psoriasis.
There is no cure for psoriatic arthritis, but there are many different treatments that could help lessen the pain, protect the joints, stop the progression of the disease, and preserve the range of motion. If you suspect that you might have psoriatic arthritis, it is important to talk to a rheumatologist.
People with psoriasis could develop psoriatic arthritis
Because of psoriatic arthritis, people can sometimes develop a condition that is called spondylitis. Spondylitis will mainly cause inflammation of your joints, between your pelvis and spine, and between the vertebrae of the spine. You can find out more if you check out https://arthritiscare.com.au/ankylosing-spondylitis or talk to your doctor
What are the symptoms?
Psoriatic arthritis could develop very slowly, only showing mild symptoms, but it can also develop rapidly and severely. Some people could develop psoriatic arthritis after an injury of the joint. However, this type of arthritis is mostly related to genetics, and common symptoms are:
- Tenderness, swelling and pain over tendons.
- Stiffness, throbbing, swelling, tenderness and pain in one or more joints.
- Fatigue and reduced range of motion.
- Tiredness and stiffness in the morning.
- Nail change, such as separation from the nil bed. Pain and redness of the eye.
How is it diagnosed?
There is no definitive diagnostic test when talking about psoriatic arthritis. The diagnosis will be made by the observations and by process of elimination from your doctor. Since the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis are very similar to rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis and gout, your doctor will have to question you, and perform physical examination, MRI, X-rays and blood tests.
Life with psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis could impact the quality of your life, similar as how rheumatoid arthritis could. However, there are a lot less resources for people who are living with psoriatic arthritis, than there are for people who have rheumatoid arthritis. You could contact a psoriatic arthritis specialist in Brisbane or you can search locally.
However, there are many things you could do to make your life with psoriatic arthritis a lot easier. For example, physical activity is very important, as it can help keep your joints and tendons loose and limber, thus reducing pain and inflammation. There are many articles online that could help or simply talk to your doctor.
Psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have similar symptoms
Final word
Treatments for psoriatic arthritis vary from one person’s case to the others. They could range from oral medications that will reduce swelling and inflammations, to biologic therapies that can be infused and injected. The best treatment for your particular case is something only your doctor can prescribe after a thorough examination.
