Effective Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment

Psoriatic arthritis treatment is the integrative modality that is employed to manage a heterogeneous group of arthritides.

In general, this arthritis disorder is a medical condition in which the person has both psoriasis and arthritis. A person with psoriasis generally develops patches of red skin with scales.

The affected part looks different depending on the type of psoriasis that the person has. Arthritis on the other hand is generally the inflammation of joints.

Psoriatic arthritis is also an autoimmune disease. This means that the disease causes the cells and antibodies to attack healthy tissues. In general, a person with this arthritis disorder will manifest the symptoms of psoriasis. When a person has exhibited a severe case of psoriasis; the higher the chances that he will have psoriatic arthritis. Treatment would then be used to manage both conditions and their resulting complications.

Psoriatic arthritis is not a common medical condition in the US. It affects about 2.5% of white people in North America. It is a rare condition in African American and Native American people.

A recent study estimates that about 1 million people in the US suffer from arthritis. It is also a general observation that a number of persons with psoriasis are not aware that they also have psoriatic arthritis.

There are equal chances for both men and women to develop psoriasis. For men, they are more likely to develop the spondylitic form, in which the spine is affected.

Females, on the other hand, are prone to have the rheumatoid form, in which many joints may be involved. This type of arthritis usually affects people aged 35-55 years. However, cases at early age were also reported.

The causes of psoriatic arthritis have not been definitively determined. Experts point to combination of genetic, environmental, and immune causes. There about 40% of people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis who also have relatives with the same condition. There are some cases of psoriasis which indicate to infection as the cause.

People suffering from psoriatic arthritis may not have obvious skin findings. Some may just have minimal scaly red skin on the scalp, in the bellybutton, or between the buttocks.

Some may also develop nail abnormalities and arthritis and no skin symptoms. At the early stages of the disease, various nail changes can happen. This includes loosening and development of lines going across the nails.

In most cases, psoriasis happens before arthritis sets in, sometimes as much as 20 years ahead. About 20% of cases develop eye inflammation, and inflammation of the iris occurs in 7%.

The overall goal of psoriatic arthritis treatment is to control inflammation. The medical intervention will also involve treatment of skin symptoms.

Your doctor may also prescribe NSAIDs and other anti-inflammatory drugs to control the inflammation and pain in the joint.

As part of management of the disease, you will also be required to have sufficient rest. Your doctor may also implement a good exercise program to improve movement, strengthen muscles and stabilize joints.