Psoriatic and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is a type of inflammatory arthritis that usually appears in people with a skin disease called psoriasis. Approximately 25% of people with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis. Early diagnosis and treatment can result in controlling severity of symptoms and damage to your joints.
WHAT IS PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS?
The word arthritis means inflammation of the joint. Inflammation is a medical term describing pain, stiffness, redness and swelling.
Arthritis is either caused by joint inflammation, progressive bone and joint damage, or both. Arthritis is among the leading causes of disability in Canada, affecting more than four million people of every age and ethnic background.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system damages the body's own tissues in an attempt to resolve an inflammation trigger. The result is red patches of skin covered with white scales. Psoriasis can involve only a few small patches of skin to much larger areas of the skin. In most people, psoriasis tends to be mild and some don’t even realize they have it at all.
Psoriatic arthritis (PA) is a type of inflammatory arthritis and an autoimmune disease. In PA, antibodies target the cells within the joints. This causes swelling, pain and warmth (inflammation) in the joints.
PA usually begins slowly, spreading to other joints over a few weeks to a few months. In rare instances, PA can develop quickly and severely. PA is an unusual type of arthritis because it can present differently from person to person.
Doctors have discovered five general patterns of psoriatic arthritis. In the asymmetric pattern, the psoriatic arthritis affects one to three joints on different sides of the body. In the symmetric pattern, PA involves many more joints and looks very much like rheumatoid arthritis. In the distal pattern, PA involves the end joints of the fingers closest to the nails. In the spinal pattern, PA involves the joints of the spine and the sacroiliac joints linking the spine to the pelvis. Finally, in the destructive pattern, which affects only a few people, PA is a severe, painful, deforming type of arthritis. This is also known as arthritis mutilans.
PA can also cause inflammation in tendons around the joints. This is called enthesitis. Some of the common spots for this are the back of the heels, underneath the bottoms of the feet and on the outside of the hips. In other people, PA can cause the fingers or toes to swell up like sausages. This is referred to as a dactylitis.
The above material was adapted from the Arthritis Society website: http://www.arthritis.ca/page.aspx?pid=1011
WHAT IS PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS?
The word arthritis means inflammation of the joint. Inflammation is a medical term describing pain, stiffness, redness and swelling.
Arthritis is either caused by joint inflammation, progressive bone and joint damage, or both. Arthritis is among the leading causes of disability in Canada, affecting more than four million people of every age and ethnic background.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system damages the body's own tissues in an attempt to resolve an inflammation trigger. The result is red patches of skin covered with white scales. Psoriasis can involve only a few small patches of skin to much larger areas of the skin. In most people, psoriasis tends to be mild and some don’t even realize they have it at all.
Psoriatic arthritis (PA) is a type of inflammatory arthritis and an autoimmune disease. In PA, antibodies target the cells within the joints. This causes swelling, pain and warmth (inflammation) in the joints.
PA usually begins slowly, spreading to other joints over a few weeks to a few months. In rare instances, PA can develop quickly and severely. PA is an unusual type of arthritis because it can present differently from person to person.
Doctors have discovered five general patterns of psoriatic arthritis. In the asymmetric pattern, the psoriatic arthritis affects one to three joints on different sides of the body. In the symmetric pattern, PA involves many more joints and looks very much like rheumatoid arthritis. In the distal pattern, PA involves the end joints of the fingers closest to the nails. In the spinal pattern, PA involves the joints of the spine and the sacroiliac joints linking the spine to the pelvis. Finally, in the destructive pattern, which affects only a few people, PA is a severe, painful, deforming type of arthritis. This is also known as arthritis mutilans.
PA can also cause inflammation in tendons around the joints. This is called enthesitis. Some of the common spots for this are the back of the heels, underneath the bottoms of the feet and on the outside of the hips. In other people, PA can cause the fingers or toes to swell up like sausages. This is referred to as a dactylitis.
The above material was adapted from the Arthritis Society website: http://www.arthritis.ca/page.aspx?pid=1011