Psoriatic Arthritis: A Lesser Discussed Arthritic Condition

Psoriatic Arthritis is one of the lesser known arthritic ailments.  It is not sure exactly what causues it, but it is thought that a combination of immune, genetic and environmental factors are to blame. For those patients who have psoriatic arthritis in the spine (called spondylitis), there is a gene marker named HLA-B27 which is often found.  Fortunately, blood testing is now available to see if you are a gene carrier.  Something else that is under investigation by researchers is the relationship between infectious agents and other environmental factors as psoriatic arthritis progresses.

Symptoms of psoriatic arthritis

In many patients, psoriasis comes initially but psoriatic arthritis may not present for months or years later.  Psoriatic arthritis symptoms frequently present around the ankles, knees and joints in the feet. If inflicted, these joints become painful, hot, swollen and red. If a patient happens to have symptoms in the fingers or toes, this can cause the entire digit to swell up, giving it the appearance of a “sausage”, a symptom sometime referred to as “clubbing”.

Psoriatic arthritis symptoms usually involve joint stiffness which is at its worst early in the morning. Other psoriatic arthritis symptoms include inflammation of the spine as well as the sacrum, stiffness in the buttocks, lower back, neck and upper back.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis symptoms may also develop tendonitis or inflammation of the tendons particularly the tendon that lies behind the heel which can lead to Achilles tendonitis. Chest pain is another symptom of this disease.

Aside from spondylitis and arthritis, psoriatic arthritis symptoms can even cause internal inflammation in the lungs, eyes and aorta. When the iris of the eye becomes inflamed, it can be aggravated by bright light.  To decrease the inflammation, it may be necessary to inject corticosteroids right into the eyes before blindness occurs. When the area in and around the lungs become inflamed, this can cause chest pain or shortness of breath.  When the aorta becomes inflamed, this can cause leakage around the aortic valves which, in some cases, can lead to heart failure.