Rheumatologists often prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, also known as NSAIDs, to people with psoriatic arthritis. These medications can help ease pain and curb the swelling that accompanies this condition. Common NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
These drugs can slow the progression of psoriatic arthritis and save joints and other tissues from permanent damage. The most commonly used disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) is methotrexate (Trexall, Otrexup, others). Others include leflunomide (Arava) and sulfasalazine (Azulfidine).
Experts may recommend leflunomide if you have not adequately responded to or have had side effects with methotrexate. Sulfasalazine – Sulfasalazine (sulphasalazine, salazopyrin) is a DMARD that may be effective for the joint pain and skin lesions associated with psoriatic arthritis.
The best way to improve your symptoms is to get moving with gentle, low-impact exercises like walking, swimming, yoga, and tai chi. Movement can lessen pain and expand your range of motion. These activities may also help you relax, ease your stress, and sleep better.
Even so, the pain and discomfort associated with psoriatic arthritis can be significant. A study published in 2015 in the journal PLoS One found that the overall pain, joint pain, and fatigue reported by psoriatic arthritis patients was significantly greater than that reported by people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Apply Heat or Cold. People who experience chronic pain often find relief through heat or cold therapy. Heat helps to relax tight muscles and relieve achy joints, while cold helps numb pain and reduce inflammation. Most people respond best to heat, but others might find relief from cold, Lawton says.
The inflammation caused by PsA can have short-term effects such as pain and swelling. Inflammation can also cause long-term damage to your joints. Stress is another aggravation. The combination of inflammation and stress can make you even more sensitive to pain.
Since arthritis can cause inflammation, magnesium's anti-inflammatory effects might help some people with the condition.
When you have psoriatic arthritis, you want to stay away from foods that can make the inflammation in your body worse. These include: Alcohol: It makes your liver work harder and disrupts the way your organs work together. Sugar: It sends out things called cytokines that create inflammation in your body.
There are drugs that can slow your condition down and reduce the amount of inflammation it causes. This in turn can help prevent damage to your joints. These are called disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Many DMARDs will treat both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Your doctor will most likely offer you a medicine called a DMARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drug). DMARDs help calm your symptoms, may slow down the disease, and prevent or slow joint damage. Conventional DMARDs and systemic psoriasis drugs are often the first medicines prescribed. Methotrexate is common for PsA.
Triggers for initial onset include strep throat or another infectious disease, which may cause an overreaction in the immune system in those who are susceptible. Triggers for onset and a flare include: stress, which can trigger symptoms and make them worse.
PsA symptoms can be debilitating. They can make it hard for someone to sleep, work, and do the activities they enjoy. Getting treatment for PsA can help reduce disease activity and relieve the symptoms. Read on to learn why PsA can be so painful and how to manage it.
Psoriatic arthritis causes inflamed, swollen, and painful joints. It happens most often in the fingers and toes.
Signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include stiff, painful joints with redness, heat, and swelling in the surrounding tissues. When the hands and feet are affected, swelling and redness may result in a "sausage-like" appearance of the fingers or toes (dactylitis).
If left untreated, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can cause permanent joint damage, which may be disabling. In addition to preventing irreversible joint damage, treating your PsA may also help reduce inflammation in your body that could lead to other diseases.
Psoriatic arthritis tends to alternate between flare-ups and periods of improvement. It leads to joint damage and severe disability in many of the people it affects. Some people may need surgery.
Psoriatic arthritis tends to be much more persistent when untreated. It can cause, as I said, joint destruction when untreated. But some people do experience significant flares of skin and joint disease, as well as periods where they are not in as much pain. Fibromyalgia also has flares and remission.
The authors of these guidelines reviewed multiple studies on vitamin D and psoriatic disease, and concluded that taking vitamin D, which helps regulate your immune system, for 6 months may lead to improvements in the severity of PsA.
Why it's good for psoriatic arthritis: Walking is easy to do and is great for building muscle and maintaining flexibility in your joints. It's also a weight-bearing exercise, which means it helps strengthen bones, and is great for weight loss.