Symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory joint disorder associated with the chronic skin disorder psoriasis. As many as 7.5 million Americans, or about 2.2 percent, have psoriasis, according to the National Institutes of Health, and from 10 to 30 percent of them develop psoriatic arthritis. Usually skin irritation symptoms appear first.

Location

Psoriatic arthritis most commonly affects the knees, ankles and feet, but it can occur anywhere. Asymmetric psoriatic arthritis is more common than symmetrical, affecting joints only on one side of the body, or different joints on each side.

General Symptoms

The inflamed joints become painful, tender, swollen, warm and red. Joint stiffness and reduced range of motion is common and usually is worse in the morning.

Back Pain

When psoriatic arthritis affects the spine and sacrum, it results in pain and stiffness in the buttocks, neck and lower and upper back.

Additonal Affected Areas

Additionally, psoriatic arthritis can cause inflammation of the tendons, cartilage areas and organs.

Nails and Skin

People with psoriatic arthritis often develop pitting and ridges in the nails, as well as nail lifting. They also may develop acne.

References

• The Mayo Clinic looks at psoriatic arthritis
• Information from the University of California at San Francisco
• Information from the NIH