bone, joint, and muscle disorders
Psoriatic Arthritis
Symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis
In psoriatic arthritis, inflammation often affects joints closest to the tips of the fingers and toes, although other joints, including the hips, knees, and spine, are often affected as well. Often, the joints of the upper extremities are affected more. Back pain may be present. The joints may become swollen and deformed when inflammation is chronic. Psoriatic arthritis affects joints asymmetrically (more on one side of the body than the other), more so than rheumatoid arthritis, and involves fewer joints. Tendons or ligaments can become inflamed where they attach to bone around the joints (called enthesitis). Some people who have psoriatic arthritis also have Fibromyalgia , which causes muscle pain, joint stiffness, and fatigue. The psoriasis rash may appear before or after arthritis develops. Sometimes the rash is not noticed because it is hidden in the scalp, navel, or creases of the skin such as between the back of the buttocks and thigh. The skin and joint symptoms sometimes appear and disappear together and sometimes they do not. Sometimes the skin symptoms are more severe than the joint symptoms, and sometimes the joint symptoms are more severe. This image shows swelling of joint closest to the fingertip (distal interphalangeal joint) in a person with psoriatic arthritis. Image courtesy of Kinanah Yaseen, MD. This photo shows dactylitis or sausage digits, so-called because the swelling causes the fingers to take on a sausage-shaped appearance, in a person who has psoriatic arthritis. Pitting of the nails and salmon-colored patches on the skin are also visible. © Springer Science+Business Media This photo shows red, flaky, and thickened skin on the scalp of a person who has psoriasis. DR P. MARAZZI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY This photo shows red patches covered with silvery-white scales on the elbows of a person who has psoriasis. SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY 