Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that causes dry, red, flaky, itchy, scaly skin. About 30% of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the joints.
When psoriatic arthritis attacks your feet and ankles, it can affect your gait, mobility, and functionality. Drs. Jarna Rathod-Bhatt and Rahul Bhatt at Apple Podiatry Group offer comprehensive treatment options that help our patients with psoriatic arthritis manage their symptoms and regain their mobility.
We have three Texas locations in Arlington, Flower Mound, and Fort Worth, so if psoriatic arthritis limits your lifestyle, schedule an appointment soon to get started on a life-changing treatment.
Meanwhile, here’s what you need to know about psoriatic arthritis in your feet.
Researchers still don’t know the exact cause of psoriatic arthritis, and there’s no cure. Although it can affect children, it most commonly crops up between the ages of 30 and 50. If you have psoriasis on your skin, you can develop psoriatic arthritis in your joints up to 10 years later, but you can have either the skin condition or the joint condition independently.
Since psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune disease, it causes your body to attack itself — in this case, it attacks your joints where your tendons and ligaments meet your bones.
Symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include the following:
Psoriatic arthritis is often confused with rheumatoid arthritis because they have similar symptoms. However, they differ in a few key aspects. Psoriatic arthritis affects the ligaments and tendons in your joints, while rheumatoid arthritis affects the joint lining. A blood test also reveals the difference: People with rheumatoid arthritis have a protein called rheumatoid factor in their blood, and those with psoriatic arthritis don’t.
If you ignore psoriatic arthritis, it will progress and lead to a host of health issues. The inflammation within the joint can cause damage to your:
If the disease spreads throughout your body, you may also develop vision problems, difficulty breathing, metabolic syndrome, and loss of bone density.
You can manage your psoriatic arthritis symptoms at home by:
However, when you need next-level relief, our team is here to help. Through prescription medication, biologics, and physical therapy, we can help you regain your range of motion and decrease inflammation and pain.
In severe cases of long-term psoriatic arthritis that has irreparably damaged the joint, we may recommend surgical intervention to replace the joint. Both of our board-certified podiatric surgeons are highly experienced in forefoot and rearfoot surgery and can skillfully repair and replace your damaged joint tissues.
If psoriatic arthritis in your feet is limiting your life, contact us at any of our three Texas locations online or by phone to schedule a consultation with our experts.
