What are the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis? As we said, psoriasis will precede psoriatic arthritis and it might be years, if ever, before this condition affects you. However, all patients of psoriasis must be prepared for this eventuality.
The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis are very much like the other forms of arthritis. There is pain and stiffness in the joints and the inflammation could cause swelling and sometimes even redness. When the spine is affected, it could mean pain down the whole back, right from the neck down to the pelvis. There could be stiffness and restricted movement as well. Psoriatic arthritis affects the tendons as well at times, especially the ones attached to the joints so you could experience pain and swelling in the heel as well. When this happens, it makes walking very difficult because every time the Achilles tendon is stretched, there could be pain. Walking up stairs with this condition is very painful. When it affects the tendons that are connected to the breastbone, it can cause a lot of pain in the chest.
The five types of psoriatic arthritis have the common symptom of pain and stiffness but each one has its unique signs and symptoms as well. Symmetric psoriatic arthritis very often affects the tips of the elbows and the knees and it manifests itself on both sides of the body. The joints might turn tender and get swollen. When it is asymmetrical, any joint could get affected and one side of the body does not mimic the other. In both these cases, the pain is very akin to that of rheumatoid arthritis and the pain could sometimes be very intense. The third type affects the fingers and the toes and this, too, could be very painful because at times, any finger or toe swells up like a sausage because of the inflammation and the pain can get very bad. The fourth affects the spine which is why it is classified as spondylitis and this can be a great discomfort because the person finds it very difficult to carry out regular chores because of the pain in the neck or right down the spine or in the lower back. When the condition affects the small joints that are found close to the toes and the fingers it can be deforming as well as painful, destroying and damaging the joints. This type, however, is very rare.
Psoriatic arthritis also affects the nails and the eyes and it can also cause an outbreak of acne. The nails can get hard and discolored while the eyes could be affected by iritis where the iris is inflamed. This is painful and it is aggravated by bright light. When it affects the lungs, it causes pleuritis and this could mean chest pain and difficulty breathing. When it affects the heart, especially the aorta, it could cause heart failure. There are cases where this condition has also been responsible for thickening of the tissue on the palms and the feet, causing cracking, pain and infection.
The symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, especially the stiffness and the pain, can be felt more in the morning after rest and it feels better as the day goes on and you are on your feet. People who suffer from this condition tend to feel tired very easily.