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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffPsoriatic arthritis can be painful and debilitating, and can damage your joints, even with treatment. Some types of psoriatic arthritis can cause additional difficulties, including:
- Swollen fingers and toes (dactylitis). Psoriatic arthritis can cause a painful, sausage-like swelling of your fingers and toes. Swollen toes are a particular problem because they can make it hard to find shoes that fit properly. A podiatrist — a doctor who specializes in the feet — may be able to provide help if you have psoriatic arthritis in your toes or ankles. You may also develop swelling in your hands and feet that isn't limited to your joints and that may develop before joint symptoms do.
- Foot pain. Another condition associated with psoriatic arthritis is enthesopathy, which causes pain at the point where tendons and ligaments attach to your bones — especially at the back of your heel (Achilles tendinitis) or in the sole of your foot (plantar fasciitis).
- Back and neck pain. Some people develop a condition called spondylitis as a result of psoriatic arthritis. Spondylitis mainly causes inflammation of the joints between the vertebrae of your spine and the joints between your spine and pelvis.
References
- Questions and answers about psoriasis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/psoriasis/psoriafs.htm. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Psoriatic arthritis. American College of Rheumatology. http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/psoriatic_new.asp. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Psoriasis of the nails. National Psoriasis Foundation. http://www.psoriasis.org/about/psoriasis/sites/nails.php. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Psoriatic arthritis. National Psoriasis Foundation. http://www.psoriasis.org/about/psa. Accessed Sept. 9, 2008.
- Gordon KB, et al. The treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: An interdisciplinary approach. The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2006;54(3)(suppl):S85-S91.
- Cerhan JR, et al. Antioxidant micronutrients and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in a cohort of older women. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2003;157(4):345-354.
- Imokawa S, et al. Methotrexate pneumonitis: Review of the literature and histopathological findings in nine patients. The European Respiratory Journal. 2000;15(2):373-381.
- Tobin AM, et al. TNF alpha inhibitors in the treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. BioDrugs. 2005;19(1):47-57.
- Gladman DD, et al. Patient information: Psoriatic arthritis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
